Saving Lisbon
by eblonde
Summary: After a dinner with Patrick, Lisbon is struck by a terrible bout of food poisoning and ends up being hospitalized. Will Jane rise to the occasion and help her through a life changing ordeal? or will he leave her to deal with things as she always does... completely alone.
1. Chapter 1

Teresa Lisbon sat in her office, her head on her desk and her hands clasped tightly to her abdomen. Never in her life had she felt this sick. She had a headache from the fever, nausea rolled through her body, the waves getting almost unbearable, making her stomach hurt even more as it churned and rumbled. Seafood. Even thinking about it made her stomach grumble. Her morning coffee had seemed to only make her feel worse.

She let out a soft groan. She had woken up feeling fine, quite happy after her night out with Patrick Jane, the annoying but most undeniably hansom, enticing man she knew. But now; now all she wanted to do was go home and crawl into bed and die, he told her she was going to get sick, she didn't believe him, so that was out of the question. Stupid egotistical male. She had insisted on getting some form of seafood, it was her favourite, Patrick had flat out refused saying he liked his bodily fluids to stay where they belonged―inside his body. But she had insisted, and Patrick, wanting to teach her a lesson on believing him―whether or not he might regret his decision― had given in, telling her it was her stomach―he had gone next door in search of a salad.

As if almost on cue, she heard a knock at the door. She groaned as her lifted her head off the table, small spots popping in front of her eyes, altering her vision and leaving her feel even more disorientated. She cleared her throat and took her hands away from her stomach to try to look a little more natural. "Come in." She called, wiping the sweat off of her face and picking up a pen to make it look as though she had been working the whole time.

A blonde head popped around the side of the door. He was smiling, he look rather pleased with himself. "You're sick." He stated.

"No I'm not. I'm fine."

"Lisbon. You're as white as a ghost, your bathed in sweat and I can hear your stomach from my couch." He let out an apprehensive smile. He looked at her, all of a sudden quite worried about her. "Are you ok? "

Just as Patrick had started talking, her stomach started churning furiously. It was making unsophisticated gurgling sounds, that Patrick probably _would_ have been able to hear from his couch. A fresh wave of nausea revolved through her body. She held up her left index finger, while her right hand was grasping small fistfuls of skin on her abdomen. Her face was contorted in pain.

"Lisbon?"

She looked at him, with fear in her eyes.

"Bin!" her left hand came to her mouth to try to resist the urge to vomit until the bin was thrusted firmly under her chin. She opened her mouth and the contents of her stomach spilled over. She felt a comforting hand on the small of her back. She also noticed her hair had been firmly pulled off her face. She retched again, each spasm leaving her head pounding and her stomach writhing. She coughed a couple of times and then sighed.

"Ok, so maybe I'm a little sick" she admitted.

"It doesn't take a mentalist to work that out." Patrick stated handing her a tissue for her to wipe her mouth.

"Thanks." She muttered accepting the tissue. Patrick took the bin off her lap and placed it on the floor. Lisbon put a hand on her forehead and wiped away the sweat. She leant back on her chair and closed her eyes, her hand returning to her stomach.

"Aww, Lisbon I'm sorry."

She let out a small sigh.

"Why?"

"Because I knew you were going to get sick and yet I still didn't stop you."

"You tried."

"Not hard enough obv―"

"Hold that thought."

She reached over, grabbing the bin again and placing it firmly on her lap. It was a couple of seconds until she was vomiting noisily into the bin. Once again she felt the hand making small circles on her back.

"Let me take you home."

"Jane, you don't know how badly I want to be at home right now, but we have a case, and I have a feeling this one is going to be a hard one to crack."

"Teresa."

"Patrick." She mimicked. "Besides I have a hell of a lot of paper work to do, because of you I might add. You told next to a hundred people they were going to die. I've had a lot of complaints, some people have even threatened to sew."

"Teresa, please let me take you home. I fell responsible for you being so ill."

Her stomach groaned in response. She winced slightly and started rubbing her stomach. She sighed.

"I feel a little better after throwing up now, anyway."

"Liar. If you were felling better you wouldn't be rubbing your stomach so vigorously right now."

She looked down. She hadn't realised she had been.

"I can't go home anyway. "

"Why not?"

"Because I don't want to go home to a the bottom of a bucket or the porcelain toilet bowl."

"So what you'd rather puke into a work bin or a bush?"

"I'm not gunna vomit again anyway."

"But you just said..."

"Jane. Save it." He put his hands up in surrender.

"Fine." He said defeated. "But if you need me, you know where to find me." And with that comment buzzing around her head, he left her office. She groaned in pain and frustration and put her head back on the desk.


	2. Chapter 2

**Authors note: Thanks to everyone that reviewed! Ok, so, I have a vague idea about where this story is headed, but I'm really interested to see what you all want out of this! This is my first fanfic so I'm still getting used to the whole process, so constructive criticism is appreciated! **

**Well here's the second chapter anyway.**

**And as always, read, review and enjoy!!!**

**Disclaimer: ha! I wish I own the mentalist!!!!!**

"Where's Lisbon?" Grace asked.

"Bathroom." Patrick replied.

"Again? That's the third time within the last hour! Is she ok?"

"Food poisoning I think. She won't let me take her home. And it's her sixth actually."

"I'm going in to make sure she's ok." Grace said walking out of the room towards the ladies bathroom. She knocked on the door before entering, to show Lisbon that she was there.

"Boss? You ok?" she walked into the bathroom to the sound of dry retching.

Lisbon groaned.

"Van Pelt?" she mumbled, flushing the toilet and walking out of the cubicle.

"I'm worried about you." Van Pelt said. "So is Patrick. He's just too proud to say so."

"I'm fine."

"No you're not. Seriously. Come off you high horse and let Patrick take you home! For Christ sake Lisbon! You're not fine!"

"Are you finished?" Lisbon asked.

"Oh... umm... I'm sorry. I just―"

"Don't worry about it. You're probably right. I feel like crap." She walked over to the sink and looked in the mirror. "I look like crap."

"Lisbon?" she had turned green.

She leant over the sink expelling more of her stomach contents. She coughed once and then sighed.

"This is disgusting." She complained, turning on the tap to wash the remains down the plug.

Grace walked over to her and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "All the more reason for you to allow Jane to take you home."

"I know. But I can't exactly ask him to now can I?" It was more of a statement than a question.

"I'll ask him for you if you want. Just put up a bit of a fight, so he doesn't suspect too much."

Lisbon smiled slightly at the junior agent. Seeing the worry in her eyes, made her think that she did genuinely care.

"Thanks Van Pelt."

She answered with a small nod and a smile.

They slowly walked out of the bathroom together.

"Make yourself look sick." Van Pelt whispered.

"It's not that hard." Lisbon replied.

"Stay here" Van Pelt said pointing to a chair. Lisbon nodded .

Van Pelt walked away in the direction of Jane's couch. Lisbon sat down and put her head in her hands. She could feel the heat radiating off of her skin, from the fever.

As Van Pelt neared Jane's couch, she noticed he was asleep. She thought about turning around and taking Lisbon home herself, but she just had so much work to do. And besides, Lisbon had trusted her with convincing him, and right now, she was still at the point of proving herself to her boss. She walked up to Jane and put a hand on his shoulder, gently shaking him awake.

"Van Pelt? What's wrong?" Patrick asked sitting up, looking a little worried.

"Oh, no, there's nothing wrong. It's just that... I just walked into the bathroom and Lisbon was vomiting again. She really needs to be driven home, and she's in no fit state to be driving. I would take her home myself but I have so much paperwork to do... and Rigsby and Cho are out talking to witnesses, so..."

"You want me to take her home?"

"Well yeah... if you're not too busy."

"So... she finally came to her senses did she?"

"About what?"

"Going home. I tried to convince her to let me drive her earlier, but she refused."

"I'm not asking on behalf of her. I'm asking you to do it for... well... me. And the family of the murder victim. She could slip up and arrest the wrong guy, because she wasn't paying proper attention." She was surprised at how easily the lies came. But then again, both of them had some form of truth behind them.

"Ok, ok. I'll take her home then. But you need to help convince her."

"Sure." Van Pelt let a small smile play on her lips. She had succeeded in making Patrick Jane think that this was coming from her... and not her boss.

They walked over to where Lisbon was sitting. Patrick flashed a small uncertain look at Van Pelt before kneeling beside Lisbon.

He looked at her properly for the first time that day.

Her face was pale, minus the dark circles under her eyes and the faint green tinge that tinted her cheeks. She held her head in one hand, her eyes closed, and held her stomach with the other. Her breathing was coming out in harsh, ragged gasps, as though she was trying to keep the pain she was experiencing to herself.

"Hey there Lisbon. Van Pelt and I are worried about you. We think it best if I take you home now."

Lisbon looked up. Van Pelt had actually managed to convince him that it hadn't come from her. She would have to thank her later.

"Ummm, maybe that's not such a bad idea." She replied. Patrick held out a hand to help her up.

"Ok, there we go." Patrick said, grabbing onto her shoulders as she swayed. "Now now, we can't have you falling on the floor now, can we?" he tisked at her and then lead her towards the elevator.

"Get better soon boss." Van Pelt said with a small nod.

"Thanks Grace." Replied Lisbon returning their silent conversation with her own nod.

When they arrived at Lisbon's home, she couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. One because home, involved her bed.

And two, because the drive over had been rather painful. Patrick had spent the whole time asking her if she was ok.

As she was getting out of the car, Patrick turned off the ignition and ran around to help her. She looked questionably at him.

"What?" he asked.

"Oh, nothing."

"You don't mind if I come in, do you? Just to help you get yourself sorted." He added.

"Oh... um... I guess not." She replied startled at the unexpected comment.

"Good!" Patrick smiled and ran up ahead towards the door.

"Keys?"

"Doormat." He replied bending down and picking up the spare key and unlocking the door.

Lisbon sighed, but let this one pass.

She walked up the steps and into her apartment with only one thing in her mind; bed.

She dumped her briefcase on the dining table, walked straight past Patrick and ventured up the stairs.

She reached her room and didn't even bother to change. Shrugging out of her jacket and stripping her pants off, she got into bed and snuggled down into her pillows.

Patrick walked into the room and placed an empty bucket on the floor, beside her bed.

"Safety precaution... in case you can't make it to the bathroom in time."

"Thanks." She mumbled, half asleep.

"Make sure you stay hydrated. I'll be back to check on you in the morning."

He brushed her forehead with her finger, she was hot to the touch. Dam fever. He really didn't want to leave her like this, but for once, Patrick Jane didn't want to invade on her privacy. He walked out of the room unsure if she had heard him say about the hydration.

Walking into the kitchen, he looked in a few cupboards, pulling out a clean glass and filling it with water. He returned to her room and placed it on the bedside table.

"Get well Lisbon." He wasn't sure if she had heard him, but he was pretty sure she was already asleep. Silently as he could he walked out of her room again.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N sorry that it has taken me so long to update but i had the worst writers block ever.**

**a special thanx to rigspeltforeverxx who encouraged me to keep writing.**

**Peace! Love and Jisbon forever! =p**

**Disclaimer: i only own SOME of the characters in this story. i wish that i own the mentalist... but sadly don't. **

Lisbon woke up to the most pain she had ever experienced in her life. Stifling a scream, she reached over the side of the bed to grab the bucket. Nothing came. She stuck her fingers down her throat to force it. She started vomiting, feeling the pressure that had built up in her stomach as she'd slept, lessen.

She rolled onto her back and groaned.

"Why don't you just kill me already and get it over with!" she yelled at the ceiling.

Feeling sorry for herself, she rolled over into the foetal position, holding her knees to her chest, and silently sobbed. It was times like these, she wished someone was here for her, someone would just look after her. Ten minutes later, she fell back into a restless sleep.

* * *

The next day Jane arrived at the office to find the three of them talking about Lisbon.

"She really did look unwell yesterday... I hope she's ok. She hasn't called this morning either... oh hi Jane." Van Pelt said.

"Did you close the case yesterday?" he asked Rigsby.

"Got a confession five minutes into it, he was young... got scared, and blurted the whole story out. Busted!"

Jane nodded and went to lie down on his couch. He had just got comfortable when the phone rang, interrupting the silence. Grace answered on the second ring.

"Van Pelt... yup... ok... we'll be right there." She hung up the phone and looked at Rigsby who was just about to order case closed pizza.

"New case guys."

"Oh what... come on!" Rigsby answered hanging up the phone. "I was really looking forward to it today! Seriously."

"Grow up Rigsby." Cho replied. "Where is it?"

"Near Orangevale, on Madison Av."

"Well, let's go then" Jane said getting up off his couch and grabbing his coat."

* * *

"It's just not the same without Lisbon." Jane commented as they arrived outside an apartment building. Cho had gone off to allow them access into the building. "It's not as... fun." He sighed.

"You're worried about her."

"Well of course I am. I've never seen her look so... helpless. I'm going to go see her after this... make sure she's ok."

Grace smiled.

"I knew it would happen eventually."

"What?"

"That you would finally realise that you care about her."

"What? Of course I care about her―oh you mean...? no. She is my boss and colleague, and she is my friend. Nothing else." Jane said as he started to fiddle with his wedding ring. Lisbon had always been a touchy subject. Sure he cared about her... but did he―... no. Boss, colleague. Friend. That's all.

Grace could see the internal struggle that was happening within Patricks mind, so decided to drop the topic and walked away to stand beside Rigsby.

Cho walked up to them. "Apartment 10 level 12. And the elevator doesn't work."

"Race you to the top." Rigsby muttered.

About five minutes later, they arrived in the victims room.

They were greeted by one of the local police officers. They followed him into the bedroom, where the victims were lying on the bed, covered in blood.

"Victims are Ursula and Robbie Johnston. Both have multiple gunshot wounds to the chest and head. Robbie was one of the hot shot real-estate agents."

"Who found them?" Jane asked.

"Cleaning lady."

"Where is she now?"

"Through there." The officer said pointing at a door that looked as though it lead through to a living room.

"May we speak with her?"

"Well, she's Mexican you see, and doesn't speak very good English. She's very frightened."

"Oh, well I'm sure we can handle that." Jane smiled at the officer and made his way into the living room.

"Hola." Jane said walking up to the lady and kneeling in front of her. "Can you tell me you name?"

"Adrianna." She sobbed.

"Hi Adrianna, my name's Patrick. Are you ok?" he asked kindly.

The only reply he got was the start to wail into his shoulder.

He patted her awkwardly on the head.

"Now, now Adrianna, look at me, look at me. Here hold my hand. I want you to concentrate on our skin touching. And only that ok?" she nodded and looked at their hands. "Feel the warmth, the different skin textures. Let your pain and suffering flow out of your body, and into my hand. Take a deep breath. There, do you feel better now?"

She nodded and took a few more deep breaths.

"Now, I want you to tell me what you know about Ursula and Robbie."

She nodded and wiped the tears off of her face.

"I was cleaning next door when Robbie come home. He very angry. Another man come here and they start yelling. Robbie kept saying you lie to me Mark! You lie to me! I run back downstairs to staff lounge to get away. They very loud."

"Thank you. See that wasn't so bad now was it?" she shook her head. "Do you feel better now?" she nodded.

"Ok Van Pelt, find out who Mark is. I need to go and see Lisbon."

"Sure thing Jane."

* * *

Patrick―using the key from under the doormat― walked into Lisbon's house to find it in the exact order in which her had left it yesterday. He took off his shoes and quietly crept upstairs. He wasn't happy with the sight that greeted him when he entered her room.

It looked to him as though she hadn't moved since he last saw her. The bucket beside her bed was half full, and the glass of water was untouched. He walked over and placed a hand on her forehead.

"Christ." He snatched his hand away. She was so hot, it made the touch almost unbearable. "Lisbon? Lisbon can you hear me?" he started shaking her softly. "Teresa?!" she didn't respond. He turned her into the recovery position and felt for a pulse.

"Oh god Teresa no!"

**A/N sorry cliffhanger, couldn't help maself. =D**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N Well... I was bored so I decided to get the next Chapter up tonight =D**

**Just a small warning... I plan to be rather mean to Lisbon in this series... but that's ok coz it means JISBON! Hehe**

**Well read on!**

**Disclaimer: ... don't depress me.**

Her pulse was there, but it was rapid.

"Dam!"

He pulled out his cell, dialling 911. He gave her details and then went back to trying to wake her up. Deciding he needed to cool her down, he pulled the blankets off of her and ran into her joint bathroom to wet a clean facecloth. He place it on her forehead.

For the first time since he arrived, he saw signs of life. She rolled onto her back and started groaning.

"Lisbon? Oh thank god!" Jane breathed a sigh of relief. "Lisbon? Lisbon. I need you to try to open your eyes. Can you hear me?"

The only reply he got was her moan.

"Do you know where you are?"

"No?"

"Can you tell me your name?"

"My name?"

She was tossing and turning.

"Can you sit up?"

She sighed, and groaned, her head shaking from side to side.

"Teresa! Look at me!"

She stopped moving and cracked her eyes half open.

"Do you know who I am?"

"Ummm? What?"

He heard the sirens in the distance and breathed a sigh of relief.

A couple of seconds later, they stopped and he heard a knock at the door. Racing to the door, he greeted the paramedics and lead them up the stairs.

"What happened?" the female asked.

"I'm not really sure, she's been vomiting and I took her home from work yesterday, and came back this morning and found her unresponsive, I believe she has food poisoning. Seafood. She started talking to me before you guys arrived, but she was confused, didn't recognize me for one, and didn't even know who she was either." As he had been talking the male had gotten to work taking her temperature.

"103." he said answering Jane's questioning look. "Teresa? Teresa can you hear me?"

Lisbon responded by rolling on her side and vomiting on the floor.

"Right. Let's get her to the hospital."

They lifted her onto the gurney and slowly guided her down the stairs.

"Can I come with her?"

"Are you family?"

"I'm her..." he sighed. "I'm her husband." He lifted up his left hand to display his wedding ring.

"She isn't wearing one." The male accused.

"She never wears jewellery when she's sick."

"She's wearing a necklace."

By this time they had arrived at the ambulance.

"Look. I'm coming with her whether you like it or not. Ok?"

"Get in. But stay out of the way."

Jane decided he didn't like the man. He found him arrogant and rude, and bald. He wasn't keen on bald people, has never been able to trust them, with the exception of Sam Bosco, but that was concerning his Lisbon.

His Lisbon. _His _Lisbon. Well right now his Lisbon was in a critical condition and needed him more than ever. He climbed in the back of the ambulance and sat down. The male was driving (thank god) so he wouldn't have to put up with him all the way to the hospital. On the way the female―Jenna, as he had gotten out of her― got to work placing an oxygen mask over her mouth and inserting an IV in her arm.

"What are you giving her?"

"Something to bring her temperature down and something to rehydrate her body and balance her loss of electrolytes. She should become more responsive in about an hour.

They arrived at the hospital and Jane was lead into a waiting room to fill out some paper-work, while the doctor looked over her. After a while the doctor came into the waiting room looking for Jane.

"Mr Jane?"

"Ah yes. That's me." Jane replied.

"Teresa is awake. She's been asking for you."

"Is she fully responsive?" Jane asked sarcastically, knowing she wouldn't have truly been asking for him and that the doctor was just saying that to make him feel more at ease.

"Yes she is."

"Well... why would she be asking for me?"

"You are Patrick Jane... right?"

"Yes."

"The patients husband."

"Oh... right. Yes. Husband. Well... what room is she in? I would like to see her now."

"Follow me." The doctor replied.

* * *

Jane walked into Lisbon's room to see her fully alert and looking a little better already.

"Jane." She sighed, almost in relief. "Finally a familiar face. I've been going crazy."

"Lisbon. Oh god Lisbon." Patrick walked over to the side of her bed and collapse to his knees beside her. "Don't you ever do that to me again! You hear? You half scared me to death! I thought..." he sighed again. "I thought I was going to lose you." He buried his face into the mattress, letting the emotion flow from his body.

"Oh Patrick. I'm so sorry I put you through this. It's ok though... I can make it up to you later... if you know what I mean..." she smiled seductively at him.

Jane raised his head to look at her.

"Lisbon... what are you talking about?"

"Oh come off it! Do I really need to spell it out for you? S-E―"

"Lisbon."

"What? We are married after all..."

"Are you playing games with me?"

"No...?" she said softly.

Jane looked in her eyes, she wasn't lying to him. She clearly thought that they were married.

"Lis― Teresa. Why do you think we are married?"

"**B**ecause we are... aren't we?"

Oh god. She must have heard him telling the paramedics they were husband and wife and gotten confused. False memory. He was going to have to break her heart.

"Lisbon, my dear." He said softly. "we aren't married. I only told the paramedics that so that they would allow me to ride along with you."

"W-what? She stammered. "but what about the children?"

"Children?"

"Yes... the twins, Molly and Casey."

"Teresa." He said deciding to use her first name, "you must have been dreaming. I'm so sorry."

Her lower lip started to tremble, her eyes swam with tears, her face crumpled and then she broke down completely, letting out slow strangled sobs.

Jane got up off the floor and lay on the bed with her, protectively holding her against his chest.

"Shhh, there there, your alright. It's ok." He crooned into the broken woman's ear.

"I just feel so unwell. I just want to get better. I want my life to get better."

"Shhh. Everything's gunna be ok."

They lay there for ages, him rocking her while she cried. After a while she went silent and fell asleep. Jane lay there feeling the warmth and the comfort of holding someone in his arms again. It had been a very long time since he had felt this close to another human being... physically, as well as emotionally.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N …ok… so I know it has been like… wow… 2 and a half years since I updated this… but I didn't want to be one of those authors who have unfinished fics… so I found the start of this in an old file and decided to post again…**

**Hopefully it still has **_**some**_** potential to be a good wee fic.. keeping in mind I began this when I was like 14…**

**Anyway… I've tried to recap most things that happened in chapter 4 in this chapter… but if you can't remember it may pay to read the other couple of chapters… they're not very long so it shouldn't take too long =]**

**Right… enough of my rambling ;] on with the story :]**

Although Lisbon had only been struck with a terrible case of food poisoning, various tests had still been administered to be sure that the dehydration hadn't damaged any of her vital organs.

Jane had been lying on the bed in the ER with Lisbon for over an hour, holding her while she slept. He could feel the heat radiating off her skin, and he knew she wasn't out of the woods yet. He lay there, stroking her hair softly, knowing that this would help keep her calm.

He shifted slightly. A slight cramp had begun to form in his right shoulder, but he couldn't release it without waking her.

He looked down at her pale face, and gently caressed her face with his fingers. While it had been many years since he had held a woman like this, he wouldn't want it to be with anyone else but her.

He had had to devastate her before she had cried herself into an exhausted sleep… she had had a fever dream, imagining they were married with twin girls. Jane knew how desperate she was for a family, and just how much she didn't want to be alone anymore. She had admitted that to him… and he felt slightly guilty for taking advantage of their close proximity. While he knew she needed the contact, he could find himself beginning to enjoy it a little too much.

Lisbon was his friend… his best friend. And while they had a great relationship, it was still extremely complicated. Sure he had feelings for her, but he had no idea _how _to distinguish those feelings. He knew he loved her, there was no doubt about that, he would do anything for her… but he wasn't sure what kind of love he felt. Even then, as he held her protectively in his arms, he wasn't sure if the heat coursing through his veins had any romantic feeling towards her, or if it was just a large sense of wanting to save her.

She was always saving him, maybe this _was_ his opportunity to save her.

She had had a highly unstable childhood, and he was sure that even though she had her brothers at the time, she still would have felt incredibly lonely. And now, as an adult, she didn't really have anybody either. Of course she still has her brothers… and there's the team… but she doesn't really have anyone she can rely on one hundred per cent… and while he was lying there, holding her in his arms… he decided _he _would like to be that person.

Jane was roused from his thoughts when a nurse popped her head around the corner. He saw her smile at the pair, obviously thinking they were still married. She tip-toed into the cubicle, checking Lisbon's vitals and scribbling them down on her chart.

"If you'd like to wake her Mr Jane, a doctor will be along shortly." The nurse whispered.

Although the nurse was smiling, Jane could see a certain darkness hidden beneath the surface of her eyes. He looked at her suspiciously and she backed out of the room skittishly. _Yup… definitely hiding something._

Jane focused his attention back at the woman sleeping in his arms. He ran his fingers gently along her cheek until he felt her beginning to stir.

"Teresa?" he whispered.

"Mmm?" she answered groggily.

"Time to wake up now. The doctor wants to speak to you soon."

"Mmmk." She said vaguely.

He felt her snuggle into his shoulder and he chuckled slightly at the action.

"Lisbon!" he said a little more fervently, although he still whispered to keep from startling her. He wasn't sure what frame of mind she was going to wake up in, and he really didn't want her to start crying again.

She stirred again, bringing her hand up to her face.

"Jane?" she asked quietly.

He smiled. At least she knew who he was… now to check her sanity…

"How are you feeling?" he asked kindly.

"Sick." She replied almost grumpily. "Jane…?" she asked again.

"Yes?"

"Why are you in my bed?"

Jane let out a sigh of relief. Obviously… and thankfully the delusions had stopped… but how was he meant to answer that one? _You thought we were married and when I told you we weren't you broke down and fell asleep in my arms? _He shook his head.

"Why do you think I'm in your bed?" he asked, turning the conversation back onto her.

"I… don't know? I can't remember."

Jane smiled sadly, slightly glad she couldn't see his face properly.

"You had a very high temperature… we had a bit of trouble calming you down." He said slowly. This was delicate… one wrong move and she could completely shut him out.

"Oh… right."

Jane sigh in slight relief at her vague answer.

"Would you like me to move?" he asked softly.

"Well it's not very professional…" she answered with a slight questioning tone. Secretly she was loving having him hold her. It made her feel safe.

Jane felt this sudden burst of happiness when he heard her tone… she didn't want him to move. But he could feel things beginning to get a little awkward and he didn't want her retreating into her shell again.

Being mindful of the IV in her arm, he wordlessly shifted out from under her, stifling a sigh of relief as the feeling started coming back to his arm. As he lay her gently back on the bed, he couldn't help but notice her grimace in pain when he moved her.

"Are you alright?" he asked gently.

She blew out the lungful of air she hadn't even realised she had been holding and placed her hands delicately on her belly.

"Yeah… my stomach… moving hurts." She offered him a small smile but he could see it was forced.

"How about the nausea? Has that lessoned at all?" he asked.

She could see he was genuinely concerned, and she felt quite comfortable voicing the truth, when he obviously cared quite a bit about her.

"Well no, it's still there, but I think they've given me some form of anti-nausea, because I don't feel like I'm going to actually throw up any more."

After sitting on a chair beside her, he had taken her hand in his, gently rubbing small circles on her wrist. She was quietly happy for the contact.

They sat there for a while in a comfortable silence before a doctor came around the curtain, carrying a clipboard.

"Teresa, I'm Doctor Howard. How are you feeling?" he asked kindly.

"Still quite sick, but a lot better than I was."

The doctor smiled at her.

"That's a good thing, your fever is beginning to reduce and the anti-nausea and saline drip will be making you feel more comfortable also, I'm sure."

Lisbon nodded her affirmation.

The doctors face turned serious.

Jane didn't like that look in his eye. It was the same sadness he had seen in the nurse. There was something they weren't telling them. He caught the doctors eye and flashed him a questioning look. Lisbon looked to be completely oblivious to the exchange until the doctor nodded his head.

"Teresa, when you were first admitted, you were extremely dehydrated, and it took a while for the anti-nausea and electrolyte bag to kick in. We did some tests… and I'm sorry to say that not all of them came back clear. You have Prerenal ARF… which stands for Acute Renal Failure."

Lisbon felt her heart drop to her stomach, and would have lost it, had Jane not squeezed her hand in that moment. She wasn't alone in this.

"Now while that may sound scary," the doctor continued. "this type of kidney failure, doesn't affect the kidney itself. It is reversible."

Lisbon felt herself relax a bit.

"So where do we go from here?" Jane asked for her when he realised she was too shocked to speak.

"We will move you to a ward where you will be more comfortable, and start you one a course of medication that will rebalance your fluid levels, and hopefully get your kidneys working properly again." Dr Howard said, still addressing Lisbon.

"What…" she cleared her throat, trying to compose herself a little more. "What happens if we can't fix it?"

"We'll come to that later, if we have to." The doctor replied. "Right now, we want to focus on keeping you relaxed and comfortable and getting that fever of yours down. Rehydrating you at the moment is the best thing for you, so hopefully we can keep the nausea at bay, and hope the vomiting continues to stop."

Lisbon only nodded in response. She had so much going through her head. What if she was to lose a kidney? She knew she could live without one, but they were both damaged… what if one kidney wasn't enough to keep her going? She might have to go on dialysis for the rest of her life… or get a transplant. She was a cop. She needed to be able to trust her body.

She vaguely heard the doctor say something about an orderly coming to transfer her to a ward. Once he was gone, she caught Jane staring at her, noticing he hadn't let go of her hand.

She looked worriedly into his eyes.

"Jane…"

"Don't." he cut in. "Just don't Lisbon. You're going to be ok." He smiled.

"How do you know that?" she asked in a small voice.

"I just know… call it a hunch."

Lisbon nodded, accepting that to be the best sort of comfort she could get from anyone. Considering Jane's hunches were usually pretty spot on, she felt safer having him with her.

"Lisbon… if you'll let me… I want to be there, to help you through this."

She smiled at that, looking down at their intertwined hands.

"Jane… I wouldn't want it any other way..." she looked up into his eyes, and found there was something else in there… something she hadn't noticed before…

She broke the contact and look nervously back at their hands, relishing in the warmth of their touch.

"Thank you for being there for me Jane… it means a lot to me."

Jane smiled at that. He knew how much it hurt her being alone all the time, so he was honoured that she had chosen him to be her support in this… sure he was the one who found her and was there when she found out the news… but he still liked to think, that even if he wasn't… maybe she would have asked him to help her anyway.

"It's my pleasure Teresa." He then did something that surprised both of them, he leant forward and placed a small kiss on her overheated forehead. He had to say he loved the shocked look on her face when he pulled away. "Get some rest Lisbon, I'm sure they'll be around soon to move you."

Lisbon nodded and obediently closed her eyes.

Jane smiled. She really was a remarkable little firecracker.

She was going to be fine… she had to be.

**I hope you enjoyed that…after two years of waiting *hides :]**

**Please let me know what you think in a REVIEW… I need to know if I should just wrap it up fast or if it has the potential for a few more chapters.**

**Thanks for reading! And so so sorry about the wait! x **


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N Thank you so much for the feedback on the last chapter! To those of you who are still with me after two years… you guys are incredible! Also to those who are new to this story… well you're all pretty amazing too!**

**Special Shoout-out to bluelaguna for making me smile =]**

**I hope you enjoy the next instalment =] Please R&R!x**

As promised, an Orderly came to move Lisbon to a more comfortable room. The man - who introduced himself as Joey, carefully helped Lisbon into a wheelchair, as she was far too weak to get out of bed herself. Jane had dutifully followed in her wake, not wanting to let her out of his sight. Once situated in her new room, Lisbon rolled onto her side, closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around herself.

"Are you alright?" Jane asked knowingly.

He had seen her discomfort at being moved, and if the pain on her face was any indication to how she was feeling now, Jane was pretty sure he had hit the mark with being concerned.

She only mmm-ed in response to his question. Truthfully, she felt like crap, her stomach was turning circles again, the motion of the wheelchair having played havoc with her insides. She was adamant she wasn't going to vomit again. After hearing of her condition being caused by dehydration, she was scared to death that if she started getting sick again, her body wouldn't be able to rehydrate quick enough to reverse the kidney damage.

She heard Jane shuffling around the room, rearranging the furniture to his liking. Lisbon internally groaned.

"Jane… please stop." She opened her eyes to see Jane staring at her like a deer in the headlights.

"Sorry Lisbon." He whispered, before turning back to moving the stuffed chair beside her bed. It was then she realised he was trying to get closer to her.

Seeing the recognition in her eyes, he shrugged.

"No use sitting in a hard plastic chair when there's a perfectly nice arm chair in the corner of the room." He sat matter if factly, getting himself comfortable in the chair.

"Jane… you don't have to stay."

"Oh, but I want to." He replied, flashing one of his Jane grins.

"Mmph." She was the only reply she could manage. At that moment her stomach decided to turn rather viciously, making her groan aloud and curl even further in on herself.

"Lisbon?" Seeing her in this much pain and discomfort, Jane was beginning to feel a little ill himself, but not from any physical ailments. She was beginning to worry him sick.

When she didn't seem to even register the fact that he had spoken, he reached out and took her hand again, to which she clasped at first contact. He felt his heart clench as she let out a most un-Lisbon-like whimper.

"Jane…" she said through clenched teeth. "Distract me."

"Jane, getting the gist straight away, reached out with his free hand and stroked the side of her head, trying to comfort her.

"What do you want me to talk about?" he asked, trying to keep his voice steady. This was killing him, seeing her like this.

"Anything…" she ground out. "The case… what's happening with the case?"

"The case… right… Rigsby got a confession from our last case yesterday, but we got a new one this morning. A husband and wife found dead in their apartment. They were found by the cleaning lady." Lisbon only nodded in response. She could feel herself beginning to lose the battle with her very persistent stomach. She swallowed convulsively, trying to keep the nausea at bay.

Jane sighed, continuing to stroke her head. He felt like he was petting a cat a bit, but he also knew it was giving the poor woman some satisfaction

"Lisbon I know you don't want to be sick again, but your body is trying to flush itself out, if you keep trying to hold it in… it may start flushing it out… well you know… at the other end."

He saw a faint blush tinge her face.

"The doctors are going to be able to get you rehydration under control… even as we speak fluids are being pumped into you."

Lisbon squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head.

"I've had enough… I can't." she whimpered.

Jane just sighed again. He felt slightly ridiculous that he was almost trying to convinceher to _be_ sick, but he knew she would feel better afterwards.

"Jane…I… I'm scared. I don't want to be sick for the rest of my life. I need to get better."

Jane squeezed her hand. He hated seeing that sad, scared look in her eye. He felt her tense, as she held in another spasm and she whimpered again, once it had passed.

"Ssh, it's ok Lisbon, I got you." He said as he got off the chair and sat on the side of the bed. "I know your scared, but you're going to be ok. You need to trust me."

She looked into his eyes, seeing nothing but compassion and kindness.

"Just relax Lisbon. You'll feel better when you do. I promise."

Lisbon nodded softly, allowing him to uncurl her and help her sit up. He placed an emesis basin on her lap, before grabbing her hand again. She took a few deep breaths, before she felt her insides spasm, and her hand reached out on its own accord, pulling the basin towards her. She felt Jane pull her hair back and was semi aware of him rubbing soothing circles on the small of her back.

After a moment, she was down to painful dry heaves, that were making her eyes run and her head pound.

When he knew she was finished, Jane carefully took the basin to the sink and returned with a tissue and a clean cloth. Her handed her the tissue and allowed her to wipe her face before he helped her lie back down. He sat back on the side of the bed and started sponging off her heated forehead with the cold cloth.

She hummed in satisfaction

Once she felt her body calm down a bit, she had to admit she felt a little better now.

"You're really good at this whole taking care of someone thing." She murmured to him with closed eyes.

Jane chuckled slightly.

"I did have a daughter remember Lisbon."

"Right… of course." She cracked her eyes open and looked at him. She could see he was almost enjoying looking after her… she could tell he really missed being a dad.

"How are you feeling?" he asked softly, trying to take the topic off of himself.

"A little better… the pain isn't quite so bad now." she replied, allowing him to escape the awkward tension that had almost fallen between them.

"That's good… you should try to get some sleep Lisbon. You need to keep your strength up."

Lisbon nodded, feeling her eyelids beginning to droop anyway.

"Jane…"

"Yes my dear?" he replied a small amount of wit present in his tone.

"Thank you for looking after me." she said, her voice beginning to slur from fatigue.

"It's my pleasure." He leant forward, tucking the blankets in. "Sleep." He ordered, knowing very well she was already on her way, and no amount of strength would have been able to allow her to defy his orders.

He smiled at the sick woman in front of him. She had been right in saying he was good at taking care of people… if he did say so himself. He had loved taking care of Charlie, and being able to have someone depend on him, almost made him feel good about himself. It almost amused him to see his tough as nails boss in such a vulnerable state, but at the same time it half scared him to death.

He knew it wasn't exactly fair to be feeling happy that Lisbon needed him to hold her hair back, but he was just happy that she needed him in general… and also that she seemed to _want _to need him.

He sat back in the chair and closed his own eyes. It had been a long day and the doctor would be around again soon to administer her first set of medication, so he decided now would be as good a time as any to catch up on some of his own sleep. He would have to call the team soon though.

**X-x_THEMENTALIST_x-X**

Rigsby and Cho had stayed at the crime scene, talking to neighbours and trying to figure out if anyone else had seen or heard anything suspicious. They were both feeling a little disheartened when nobody else had heard the fight between Robbie and Mark… they had been hoping someone would have been able to ID the man.

They gave up late evening and made their way back to the office.

Grace had spent most of the day trying to figure out who Mark was. The old cleaning lady had mentioned something about Robbie fighting with a Mark the night he and his wife were killed.

She had gone through Robbie's phone book only to come up dry. Frustrated she got up and made her way to the break room. Jane wasn't back yet… she guessed he had stayed with Lisbon. She only hoped he was being useful, and not being a hindrance to her, seeing as she was already sick.

Returning to her desk with a fresh mug of coffee, Grace decided to attack his client list. After about thirty minutes of skim reading the names, she came across a Mark Carmichael, a man who was trying to sell his restaurant. For such a common name, he was the only Mark on the list. Deciding he would be a good place to start, she typed his name into her laptop to carry out a background check on him.

She leant back in her chair with her coffee as she waiting for the computer to finish loading.

"Slacking off on the job I see."

Grace jumped at the sound of the voice, turning around to see it was only Rigsby and Cho returning from the crime scene. She sent a dirty look at Rigsby's way before turning to Cho.

"Anything?"

Cho stoic as ever, shook his head.

"Nothing… no body except Adrianna seemed to hear the fight."

"That's weird…" Grace replied. "I may have found out who Mark is though."

Both boys walked over to her desk and looked at her computer that had just finished loading.

"Name's Mark Carmichael. I found his name in Robbie's clientele, he owns a restaurant and was selling via Robbie. He has no criminal record either…"

"Possible motive?" Rigsby asked.

"I don't know? I don't see anything on here… I guess we'll find out more when we interview him."

"We'll talk to him first thing tomorrow." Cho said.

Grace nodded.

"Should I…"

She was cut off by her phone ringing. She gave the boys a look when she saw Jane's number on her caller ID.

"Van Pelt." She answered.

Rigsby and Cho moved off to their own desks to begin filling out paper work for the day.

"What? Is she ok?"

Rigsby looked over at Grace who looked slightly shocked and panicked. Shooting a sideways glance at Cho, he got up and crossed the room the Grace's desk, who had just hung up the phone.

"Grace?" he asked tentatively. "Grace what's wrong?"

Van Pelt looked up at Rigsby and Cho.

"That was Jane… Boss is in hospital…"

"What? Did he say what was wrong with her?" Rigsby asked.

"He said he found her in a bad way this morning… he said we should probably get to the hospital now… said she's gonna be waking up soon."

Cho was already out of his seat, putting his coat on. Although he comes across as emotionless and uncaring, when it comes to Lisbon or anyone on his team being in danger, he can be one of the most compassionate guys around.

Grace and Rigsby followed in his trend, grabbing their jackets and racing out of the bullpen. Each agent was completely unsure as to what was wrong with her. They had no idea what they were going to find when they got to the hospital. The main thought that was running through their heads was they couldn't lose her… if something was terribly wrong, the entire team would fall apart.

**Hmmm…. So I'm not one hundred per cent happy with this chapter, but I figured I would post it anyway.**

**Please let me know what you think in a REVIEW. I love getting them and your feedback means the world to me! also if anyone has any suggestion as to what they want to happen next, please let me know! and I'll see if I can fit them into the fic. ;) thanks for reading!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N thank you for all the wonderful reviews, you all make me so happy =]**

"Jane… shouldn't you be heading back to the office?" Lisbon asked in an almost regretful tone. Truthfully she was loving the company but she didn't want to come across too desperate.

"Meh…" Jane mumbled in reply. "It about time we let them take the reins. Cho's more than capable at leading them and Rigsby and Grace need to stretch out of their comfort zones."

Lisbon nodded in response, somewhat relieved.

"Besides…" Jane said with a cheeky grin plastered to his face, "I thought I would bring the office to you."

Right on schedule, three very worried looking agents scrambled into the room. Lisbon looked at Jane in wonder, having no idea when he had managed to ring the team, before she was 'attacked' by Grace in a tight hug.

"Careful Grace, be gentle." Jane said rather protectively.

Grace jumped back as if Lisbon had turned into a snake and walked to stand by Rigsby, slightly red in the face.

"No Grace, its fine. Honestly." She said trying to console her younger agent. She shot Jane an annoyed look before turning back to her team.

"How are you boss?" Cho asked from his spot against the wall.

Lisbon shifted to a more comfortable position, batting away Jane's hand when he automatically reached out to help her. He put his hands up in defence and stepped back from the bed.

"I'm ok… well… I _will _be ok."

"What happened?" Grace chirped from her spot next to Rigsby.

Lisbon looked helplessly at Jane. She didn't know how to handle this kind of situation. How do you tell your team there's something seriously wrong with you?

At Lisbon's pleading gaze, Jane stepped in.

"I went around to check on Lisbon this morning, and I found her very dehydrated… dehydrated to the point she was delusional." He saw her blush and knew she must be thinking about her dreamt up marriage. Deciding not to step on her pride, and let the team in on her secret, he continued in the same monotone voice. Even Cho was giving his emotionless state a raised eyebrow. "Anyway, I called the ambulance, they brought her here, and now they're pumping all sorts into her veins." He made a point of stopping there, deciding they should hear the rest from her.

Lisbon suddenly felt very nauseous… sickness that had nothing to do with the food poisoning. She had no idea how the team was going to react to her news of kidney damage. Would they pity her? Would they turn away in disgust, thinking she was now incapable of doing her job? Would they disown her as their boss? She looked at Jane again, trying to find some strength. Catching his eye, he gave her the confirmation she needed to be able to blurt out the words.

"My kidneys were damaged."

Grace's eyes widened in shock. Rigsby sort of closed his eyes, deflated, and Cho… Lisbon would never know how Cho had taken the news, as his expressionless façade didn't even twitch.

"The doctors say it's reversible… I just need to rest and rehydrate... which would be a lot easier if I would stop throwing up." She muttered the last few words.

This time Grace warded off Jane's gaze and walked over to the bed to tentatively hold Lisbon's hand.

"We're all gonna be there for you boss. No matter what."

"Yeah…" Rigsby said stepping forward. "You don't need to worry about a thing. We can handle anything that comes our way."

Lisbon smiled softly, before turning to Cho.

"You're in charge while I'm away."

He nodded grimly in response. He really is a man of few words. But she could see the compassion hidden in the depths of his eyes. She knows he cares for her.

Jane, who had been watching Lisbon carefully during the conversation, was almost stunned to see Lisbon's face drop three shades paler, and take on a nasty shade of green. Stepping forward, he hustled the team into the corridor before handing her the basin and gently helping her into a sitting position.

While she retched up the foul contents of her stomach, he rubbed soothing circles on her back with one hand, and pulled her hair out of her face with the other. When she was done, he brought the cool cloth and placed in on her forehead.

"I'll go get a nurse." He whispered. If she was vomiting again, the anti-nausea must have long worn off, and she was probably due for her next course of medication anyway. He saw the confusion in her eyes as he gently brushed his finger along her cheek. He felt the familiar pang of guilt whenever he thought endearing thoughts about Lisbon, but brushed them aside before leaving the room.

Lisbon had been lying there, feeling the nausea build up after her announcement… she had thought it had just been the nerves of telling her team. She was honestly thankful that Jane had been there to get her some privacy before she made a complete idiot out of herself. Sure the team had just told her they were going to be there for her, and sure Grace had been there when she was sick at CBI – which reminded her she needed to thank her for convincing Jane to drive her home – but there was only so much one person could take. She was still their boss and she doesn't like coming across as vulnerable… because that makes her look weak… and looking weak is extremely dangerous in her line of work.

When Jane had brushed his fingers tenderly across her cheek, she had found herself enjoying the contact far too much. Seeing the loving look in his eye… she almost felt as if she was back in her delusions… that's how he had looked at her when she thought they were married.

She closed her eyes, and begged her stomach to calm down. She would be getting nowhere with the rehydration if she kept throwing up all the liquids in her body.

She heard the door reopen quietly and cracked her eyes back open to see Grace creeping back into the room.

"Jane said I should keep you company while he finds a nurse." She said quietly.

Lisbon could see she was nervous, standing awkwardly with her hands in her pockets.

"Thanks Grace." Lisbon replied, truly touched at the younger agents concern.

"How are you boss… like really?" Grace asked as she came and took the seat by Lisbon's bed.

"I'm ok Grace… like I said, plenty of rest and liquids and I'll be back to normal in no time."

Grace nodded unconvinced.

"I'm gonna be ok Grace." Lisbon repeated.

"Then why did Jane look so worried when he told me to come keep you company?"

Lisbon thought about that for a while. There were many reason's Jane could be worried for her at the moment. He knew that her job was everything to her, and if she was to deteriorate, then there was a high possibility she would have to go on a transplant list… to have a kidney transplant… then there was high risk of her not being able to do highly physical activity… and therefore be banished to office work. He knows her too well… he knows she wouldn't handle not being able to go for her morning run every day. It's how she de-stresses.

She sighed.

"Because I'm still vomiting, it means that whatever poisoned my body, is still in my system… and the longer my body tries to expel it, the longer it takes to completely rehydrate me… and the more chance there is my kidney damage won't be able to be reversed."

Grace nodded in understanding.

"It will all be ok boss. It has to be." Grace said reaching out to rewet the cloth on Lisbon's forehead. "Besides," she continued after placing the cloth "I know Jane wouldn't let anything happen to you." She said, a small sheepish grin playing on her face.

Lisbon couldn't help return the small grin.

"I know what you mean Grace." Lisbon said. "Oh and Grace, thank you for getting Jane to take me home yesterday."

Grace only shrugged good naturedly in reply.

The two female agents sat there in a companionable silence waiting for Jane to return with the nurse. Lisbon actually managed to fall into a light doze for a few minutes.

When she woke up again, Jane had replaced Grace on the seat. Lisbon looked out the window to find it pitch black outside… ok so maybe it wasn't a light doze.

"How long was I asleep for?" she asked.

"Just over an hour." Jane said sleepily. Obviously he had managed to have a wee nap as she had. "I sent the team home. Grace promises she will come back and see you tomorrow."

Lisbon smiled at that. She likes the younger agent. She has great potential and an amazing caring nature. Lisbon could imagine that when she was younger, she would have been the type of child to bring injured birds home and nurse them back to health.

She saw Jane smile, and was caught slightly off guard. It was almost as if he was reading her thoughts.

"How are you feeling?" he asked softly.

"Ok… better than before anyway." She answered.

Jane nodded in approval.

"The nurse apologizes about the mix up." Seeing Lisbon's confused expression, he explained. "Apparently there was a mix up with rosters and one of the other nurses was meant to come and give you another dose of the anti-nausea and your meds. I think it's very irresponsible of them." Jane muttered.

Lisbon shrugged.

"As you said, it's my body trying to get rid of the poison, so I was bound to get rid of it… somehow. To be honest I would rather vomit." She blushed.

"But what if it was something important… like medication to keep your heart going. It's stupid mistakes like this, that make me hate hospitals."

Lisbon smiled at that.

"Liar. You hate hospitals because you don't like it if someone knows more about something than you do. You don't like someone else being in control of a situation, especially if it has anything to do with you… and I know you secretly hate needles." Lisbon replied, a smug smile forming on her face when she saw by his expression she had hit home.

Jane shook his head.

"You're truly a worry Teresa Lisbon." He said with a small smile.

Lisbon smiled back, before she felt her eyelids beginning to get heavy. Jane, seeing this, reached out and tucked the covers up to her chin.

"Good night Lisbon." He said, leaning forward and pressing his lips softly to her forehead again."

Lisbon sighed at the contact. This was dangerous! But she would cherish it while she could.

"Night Jane." she mumbled, before sinking into a relieving state of oblivion.

Jane smiled down at the exhausted woman beside him, before settling back down in the chair for the rest of the night.

**OK so I know it was short… but I had to get something posted as I have exams coming up. I hope you enjoyed it anyway… please leave me a review and let me know what you think x**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N so I was having a little trouble deciding when this fic should be set… because I started this so long ago I guess it was originally set around season 2… but that doesn't really work for me as I plan to eventually introduce some more recent characters… so hopefully it doesn't confuse too many people, but I figured we will carry on from Sunday night's episode-ish… it's just for some plot references and characters. Anyway… now that exams are over and I'm officially finished school (yay!) I should be updating more often =]**

**Omg before I start with the story… I am so angry at Jane atm! He is being such a bastard this season! Cant he see he's hurting everyone around him!? grrr. I'm not happy with him at all!**

**Anywho…**

**Thank you to all my wonderful reviewers and followers! You guys are the reason I continue to write =] x**

Lisbon continued to get sick for the better part of an hour. Around midnight, the vomiting seemed to cease and Lisbon was able to finally get some real sleep. A nurse came in to change her saline drip and check her vitals around four in the morning, and noticed Jane struggling to keep his eyes open.

Jane had hissed and roared at the doctors when they had tried to make him leave at the end of visiting hours, and eventually, probably to avoid a scene, they allowed him to stay on the old recliner.

"Why don't you lay back and get some sleep?" the old nurse whispered quietly, as she filled out Lisbon's charts.

Jane blinked and looked at the woman as if he hadn't even noticed her presence. He cleared his throat and shifted into a more comfortable position.

"No, no… that's ok. I want to be there when she wakes up."

The old nurse smiled kindly.

"And you will be. No use running yourself into the ground in the process though."

Jane smiled tiredly and took Lisbon's hand softly in his.

"No, that's ok… thank you… for your concern."

The nurse chuckled slightly as she replaced the chart on the end of Lisbon's bed.

"Can I get you anything?" she asked kindly.

Jane felt touched that she would go out of her way to make him feel more comfortable, when he wasn't even her patient… and he wasn't even supposed to be here.

Making a decision he was sure to regret, he nodded and asked for a coffee. Tea had nowhere near enough caffeine in it to keep him going. The nurse nodded and made her way out to the nurse's station. When she returned a couple of minutes later, she was met with the sight of bloodshot eyes and a pale ragged complexion.

"How long have you been awake Mr Jane… truthfully." She asked handing the coffee to him.

Jane nodded his thanks with a small smile on his face.

"The honest answer… I haven't slept in ten years. The answer your probably looking for… I haven't napped in a couple of nights… except the couple of minutes I got during the evening." Jane chuckled at the nurses raised eyebrows. "I've had insomnia for a very long time. It's not something you get used to… but I've learned to manage it."

"They have pills for that these days Mr Jane."

Jane smiled sadly.

"I know." That was all he was going to give. He wasn't about to tell her that the pills didn't stop the nightmares. If anything they made them worse, trapping him in sleep, with no way of waking to rid yourself of the inevitable pain at the end of every dream.

When the nurse realised that was all she was going to get out of him, she nodded sympathetically in his direction.

"Take care of Ms Lisbon for me. Ring the buzzer if you need anything. I'll be back in a couple of hours." She said leaving the room.

Jane nodded, the small smile returning to his face. He liked the nurse. She had probably worked in Paediatrics for most of her career. That would explain the rosy apple to her cheek and the mother hen grin she couldn't wipe off her face.

Jane was beginning to enjoy playing husband to Lisbon. He hadn't quite told her that the hospital staff still thought they were married… it was much more fun this way. Besides, she wasn't a very good actor anyway and she would ruin his cover… and then he would probably be _escorted _from the hospital… and where would that leave Lisbon? He needed to protect her from the Coats with pointy things.

He shook his head slightly at the thought… ok so maybe she had been right about his fear of needles. Sure they contained medication that would help Lisbon get better… but his experience with them only brought a heavy fog of darkness on his brain and a white room… nope… he _really _doesn't like needles.

He sipped the vile drink, his nose screwing up at the bitter taste. Coffee had never sat well with him, it had always felt like mud in his mouth and made him shake from the caffeine overdose. But he wanted… or he needed… to stay awake in case Lisbon needed him. There was a chance that if he fell asleep now, he wouldn't wake up for days, and then where would either of them be?

Jane finished his coffee in a couple of forced gulps, before discarding the cup on the bedside table and sitting back in the chair. He sat there watching Lisbon for a while, allowing himself a small moment of a naughty reprieve as he thought about what it would be like to actually be married to his boss. He imagined the house, the white picket fence, Teresa blossoming with child as she leant up to kiss his cheek at the end of the working day… he shook his head. As much as he liked to fantasise about such things, it was wrong for him to do so. Red John still had to be caught before he could even think about moving on… although he would love nothing more than to get down on one knee and ask her for real.

He sighed, rubbing his hands over his tired eyes. When would he get to rest? Would there ever be a time when he could sleep properly again? Surely after Red John was caught the nightmares would diminish?

He knew it wouldn't be fair to ask this of her, but he also hoped that Lisbon would still be there, waiting for him, once he was free of his demons.

Was it even still worth it anymore?

He fiddled with his wedding ring and felt immediately guilty that the thought had even crossed his mind. No. He needed to avenge his wife and daughter. No matter what it took. But he did have to admit that his hallucination of Charlotte had opened his eyes to a few things. He _did _want to feel happy again, and Lisbon _is _the only person who truly knows him. Even if he did accommodate the idea of giving up on Red John, he knows far too well that Red John would never give up on him. This game of cat and mouse that they have going on, seems to be Red John's favourite pastime, and he wouldn't want to lose his star 'torturee'. Like a toddler wanting attention, Red John would throw some sort of tantrum and end up wrecking more lives unnecessarily.

No… better he just play along like a good little boy, and hopefully no one else will need to get hurt.

He could feel his thoughts going in circles and beginning to jumble from the caffeine and lack of sleep. He sighed, and willed his brain to calm down a little. When his thoughts kept buzzing around his mind, he deemed calmness to be too far away to reach, and gave up, studying the small woman in the bed instead.

Under the florescent light, Jane could see her freckles prominent on her cheekbones, in stark comparison to her pale skin. If Jane didn't know better, he would think that she spent a good ten minutes in the morning trying to cover her freckles in attempt to mask her self-consciousness towards them. He knew that Lisbon wasn't one for vanity… but he had been noticing small changes to her appearance lately. She had been wearing her hair out more often… and by the look of things, she actually had been beginning to spend a little more time on her appearance in the mornings.

Jane sat in the recliner for the next two hours, allowing his body to feast on the caffeine wiring his system. When mother nurse came back to recheck Lisbon's vitals, she was holding a fresh cup of coffee for Jane.

"Thought you could probably do with another hit."

Jane took the cup gratefully and watched her as she began checking off Lisbon's vitals on the chart.

"How's she doing?" Jane asked as he blew softly on the beverage.

"She's beginning to stabilise. If all continues to go well, I'd say she could probably go home tomorrow morning."

"Wait… tomorrow morning… as in a few hours?"

Mother nurse smiled. She was used to this sort of confusion, having been on the nightshift in paediatrics for close to ten years. She had had a lot of parents to console.

"No, Mr Jane. Tomorrow morning, as in she would spend one more night here."

"Really? That soon?" Jane asked surprised.

"Her body is quickly rehydrating and she is beginning to have a steady urine output. If she is able to hold down food, I'd see no reason for her to have to stay much longer."

Jane breathed a sigh of relief. He was so worried she was going to end up needing a transplant or having long-term health problems.

"Thank you."

"That's ok Mr Jane…" the nurse headed off towards the door, before turning back to him. "Mr Jane… now that you know she's going to be ok… maybe you should avoid the caffeine and get a few hours sleep." She raised her eyebrows almost comically. "Just a suggestion. I'll see you for breakfast rounds." She said before leaving the room completely.

Jane looked at the beverage in his hands and wrinkled his nose. He probably couldn't stomach another dose of so soon anyway. Placing the still full cup on the tray, he took Lisbon's hand in his again. He brushed his thumb across her cheek and when she didn't even stir, he knew she would still be out for a couple of hours at least. He gently kissed her knuckle before he leaned back on the recliner and finally closed his eyes.

**Ok… so it was really short, but I wanted to leave it there. Just wanted it to be a Jane thinking chapter… sets things up for later =] Please let me know what you think in a review! They make me happpeeee! =D x**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N People seemed to have lost interest in this fic… I do have some bigger plotlines for this story… but I'm not so sure if I should continue with them or not… there's not really much point if hardly anybodies enjoying it anymore…**

**Anyway big thanks to those of you who did review and follow. It means the heaps. =] x**

When Lisbon woke up the next morning, she was greeted by the sound of soft snoring coming from the recliner. Sitting up she looked at said chair, to see her blonde haired consultant curled in a ball with his hands tucked under his chin, sound asleep.

She smiled fondly at his for once peaceful form, as a nurse came in with a breakfast tray.

She introduced herself as Rosie, before placing two slices of dried toast in front of her. Rosie smiled at her, noticing Lisbon's seemingly incapability to take her eyes off of the sleeping man.

"He stayed awake all night watching over you." the nurse piped up. Lisbon tore her gaze away from Jane to look at the nurse with slightly flushed cheeks. "I work the night shift." Rosie continued, her voice not much more than a whisper. "He refused to sleep until he knew you were ok."

Lisbon, not missing a beat, blinked up at the nurse.

"So… he's asleep now… does that mean…?"

"Your vitals stabilised overnight, and depending on how well you hold down food for the rest of the day, we don't see any reason why you can't go home tomorrow morning." Rosie smiled cheerfully at her.

Lisbon felt a rush of relief wash through her. She had been driven to exhaustion worrying about what would happen if she was to grow worse.

"That… that's great. Thank you." she said after she had managed to find her voice.

"That's alright Ms Lisbon. Eat your toast… but let your husband sleep. He really needs it. It really isn't healthy to force your body to stay awake that long." The nurse said, a look of genuine concern on her face.

Lisbon only nodded in reply, at a complete loss for words.

_Husband!?_

She vaguely heard Rosie say something about her doctor coming to see her soon, before leaving her room.

She couldn't believe the nerve of the man. Here he was pretending to be her spouse, and he hadn't even warned her?

Lisbon bit into a piece of the toast almost unconsciously. She felt so many different emotions flit through her brain and heart. But it really only took a moment before her face turned soft again. The reason he had told the paramedics he was her husband was so he could ride along with her… and now he seemed to be keeping up with the story so he could stay with her. She was touched.

It felt odd almost, because she hadn't really seen him since he got back from Vegas. He had been totally obsessed with Lorelei and she had almost forgotten about how it used to be… back when they were a team and she had thought he trusted her. She had never felt so distant from him in all the years she had known him, and now, having him here beside her… she couldn't help but feel her heart flutter slightly.

The night he had taken her out for dinner… the night she had gotten the seafood, he had been half apologising, half thanking her for finding him after he was 'kidnapped' by Lorelei. It was the first act of kindness he had expressed towards her in a very long time.

Before she had even realised it, she had made her way through both pieces of toast. She steadied herself for the oncoming nausea, and was ecstatic when it only came in weak, manageable waves. Pushing the tray away, she leant back into the pillows and contented herself with watching Jane's peaceful slumber. This brought back the memory of when they first met and he had fallen asleep on the couch.

It never failed to amaze her that someone with so much rage, or with so much emotion, could look so peaceful in sleep. She almost found him… dear she think it… _cute._

She smiled softly to herself, then busied herself reading a book someone had left her… probably Cho.

**X-x_THEMENTALIST_x-X**

As promised, Van Pelt came to visit her that morning. Lisbon looked up from her book to see the young red head standing in her doorway, and motioned for her to be quiet, pointing at Jane's sleeping form.

Van Pelt smiled girlishly, before taking a seat on the vacant chair beside Lisbon.

"How are you?" she whispered.

"I'm much better actually." Lisbon replied with a happy smile. "The doctors say if all goes well I can leave tomorrow morning."

"That's great boss!" Van Pelt exclaimed as she leant forward and gave her a soft hug.

Lisbon laughed softly, but also brought her finger up to her lips, again signalling for them to be quiet.

Grace smirked at Lisbon's action, shooting her a raised eyebrow in question.

Lisbon shrugged in response.

"He's been awake all night. The nurse said he wouldn't sleep until he knew I was alright."

Grace's features softened.

"That's really sweet boss."

Lisbon nodded.

"He has also told the entire hospital that we are married so he can stay in my room."

Grace's eyes widened at that.

"He really does care for you, doesn't he." It wasn't a question.

Lisbon nodded again, before muttering, "Even if he's been a little less obvious about it lately."

Van Pelt shrugged.

"We all know he's had a lot on his plate lately…" she paused for a moment, thinking about how to word this. "…it's just a shame it took you getting so ill for him to realise what he was doing to all of us… what he was doing to you. We've all seen the way he looks at you boss… and the way you look at him. I… I know you love him Teresa."

Lisbon spluttered at that. Never, in her right mind, would she have thought her youngest agent would have the guts to say something like that to her face and live to tell the tale. But who was she kidding? She would never get angry at Grace over something she knew was true. Even if she didn't know what kind of love she was feeling for her pain in the ass consultant… she still know her affection for him runs a lot deeper than she would care to admit. Still, she felt it was still necessary to at least _try _to run Van Pelt off of her trail.

"I… I know you think you know something Grace… but…" Lisbon sighed, feeling defeated. "There's too much history Grace… to even think about something like that… he's my best friend… but I have a lot of trouble trusting him. There's too much baggage separating both of us… the damage has been done… a long time ago." She stopped for a moment, looking back at Jane's slumbering form. "I know we will always be there for each other… in the end anyway… and for the important stuff… but he has to catch Red John… he _needs _to catch Red John… and if he needs to push me away to do that… then I need to let him… no matter how much it hurts." Lisbon finished, still taking in Jane's features. He had dark shadows smudged under his eyes and she knew it wasn't just from looking over her last night. He hadn't been looking after himself. He had been so tied up, keeping his nose firmly inside of his little book, that he had driven himself to the point of exhaustion. She had even found a used coffee cup in his attic… and she knows he hates the stuff. He had once told her that coffee literally makes him sick to his stomach. She really needed to have words with him about taking better care of himself.

"Boss… I know this has been hard on both of you… but I'm really glad he's here for you now… and that your letting him too."

Lisbon smiled at that.

"So am I Grace… so am I."

What neither of them saw was the small smile splaying across the man's face… the man who was meant to be sleeping.

**X-x_THEMENTALIST_x-X**

After leaving the hospital, Grace went straight to work to find the boys in the bullpen going over Mark's file.

"How did the interview go?" she asked them as she sat down at her desk.

"Good… didn't really get much out of him." Rigsby replied. "He said that he wasn't anywhere near Robbie's room the night of the murder. Said the cleaning lady must have either heard wrong or is lying." Rigsby shook his head. "She looked terrified when we found her though… and Jane would have picked up on the lie."

"Yeah… but he was worried about Lisbon when we were there… he was busting to get away… he might have made a slip up?" Grace replied.

"Come on guys… this is _Jane _we're talking about. He doesn't make mistakes like that."

"Rigsby… he's only human."

Cho snorted.

"Every man has his weakness." Cho retorted.

Grace shook her head.

"Did we find out anything _useful_?"

"Not really. I'm checking out his alibi now. We'll see what happens once it's been confirmed." Cho said.

"So where do we go from here then?" Van Pelt asked.

"I'm gonna go back and see the cleaning lady. See if she has anything else to add to her statement. Something tells me she wasn't telling us everything." Cho deadpanned.

There was a short silence that followed, minus the soft tapping of keyboards and the rustling of paper.

"I went and saw Lisbon this morning." Grace said breaking the silence.

"How is she?" Rigsby asked, chucking a screwed up piece of paper into the bin.

"She's actually doing a lot better. The doctors say if all goes well in the next twenty four hours she should be able to go home tomorrow morning."

"That's great!" Rigsby exclaimed.

Grace smiled at his school boy antics. He really was such a gentle giant. The BFG… that's what he was.

"And Jane? He's behaving?" Cho asked without even looking up from his file.

"He was asleep when I got there… he apparently stayed up all night watching over her… told the nurses they were married to gain all night access to her room."

Rigsby looked surprised at this and Cho… well you would never know what Cho was feeling… although the slight twitch of his mouth gave away his feelings on this particular matter. He was just as happy Jane was finally being a better friend to Lisbon as Grace was.

**X-x_THEMENTALIST_x-X**

Jane opened his eyes groggily a few hours after Grace had left. He had heard the end of their conversation, but had drifted back to sleep once the ladies had taken up a new topic. He blinked the bleariness out of his sight and sat up, stretching his back with a soft groan. Sure he slept on the couch at CBI, but he was usually lying down. The recliner didn't adjust back all the way so he had been sitting in a half upright position the entire night.

He sighed. He was getting old. And he hated it.

"Hello sleepy head." He heard a voice say from the bed.

He flashed a tired grin her way before relaxing back into the chair.

"Jane… you really shouldn't have stayed up all night… it's not healthy."

He brought his hand up to his face, trying to rub away the lingering sleepiness.

"I wanted to."

"I know but you shouldn't have." Lisbon sat up higher in the bed so she could face him properly. "I'm glad you're here Jane, but I really wish you would pay more attention to yourself… you look like crap."

"Thank you for that analysis Lisbon." Jane replied, a hint of playful sarcasm in his voice.

"Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit Jane."

"Ahhh… that it is Lisbon, but pointing out a man's weakness is the lowest form of bullying."

Just as he intended, Lisbon cracked a smile.

"Aww, is the big mean agent being mean to you Jane?"

Jane pouted and nodded, but then smiled evilly.

"Actually no… the mean agent is picking on me… she's not so big… actually… she is quite small."

Lisbon shot him the death glare. Her height had always been a touchy subject.

"I'm sorry Lisbon… I didn't mean to _belittle_ you."

Lisbon reached out and smacked him on the knee with her book.

"Geez Jane! Way to pick on a sick person."

But Jane could see the spark in her eyes. She had missed this. They both had. The playful banter that had helped keep him sane over the years. The last few weeks he had really missed their talks, he had been pushing her away, and he had been hurting her. He knew it… but for reasons only he could understand, he didn't do anything to stop it. He had sworn to be there for her… and if staying away from her to keep her safe was the best way to do that… he would take the missed conversations and the hurt looks she had been sending him.

She was too important to him to let her get really hurt… he was hurting her to stop her from getting hurt… it didn't make a lot of sense… but he knew it was the right thing to do.

Her getting sick and being in hospital really was a great reason for him to excuse himself from staying away from her. He still wanted her to know that he cared.

God… here he was going in circles again… would he ever get a clue?!

He shook his head.

"I'm really glad you're going to be ok Lisbon."

Lisbon smiled at that.

"Me too… and thank you for being here for me Jane… it really does mean a lot." She reached out and took his hand.

Jane looked down and their intertwined hands. Before looking back at her, a smile ghosting his lips.

"Anytime Lisbon. Anytime."

And in that moment he really meant it.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N I had a bit of trouble writing this chapter so I apologize if it doesn't make much sense. Thank you so much to everyone that reviewed! Sorry about my wee sob story last time.**

**Big thanks to janesbiotch for betareading this for me =]**

Midday found Cho sitting across the table from Adrianna Cortez, the cleaning lady that had found the victims. When Mark Carmichael's alibi had come back clean, Cho was at a loss on how to move forward with this case. He'd had to make a decision to pay another visit to Adrianna. While he knows he has the experience and capability to lead the team, he had never been one to enjoy power.

Adrianna was sitting across from him in the apartment's staffing lounge, shrinking in on herself. Cho was used to seeing scared suspects, but there was something about the lady's eyes that was making him feel uncomfortable… something didn't quite fit.

He looked around the room, including the ceiling before beginning.

"So, Mrs Cortez, you told us in your statement that you heard the victim fighting with a man named Mark." He said consulting his notebook. While he already knew this, he liked to look at the book for effect. It was a trick he had learned to make suspects feel as if they are in a safe environment… as if they aren't the only lead. "Is that right?" he continued.

Adrianna nodded slowly.

"Can you tell me again what you heard?" Cho asked leaning forward.

Arianna shifted in her seat uncomfortably.

"I was cleaning next door when Robbie come home. He very angry. Another man come here and they start yelling. Robbie kept saying you lie to me Mark! You lie to me! I run back downstairs to staff lounge to get away. They very loud."

Cho's eyes flicked back to his notebook, reading her previous statement. Seeing as she had recited everything word for word, he was beginning to get a bad feeling about her. He kept his mask firmly in place, stoic as ever as he didn't want to spook her.

"And you didn't hear any gun shots?"

Adrianna shook her head.

"What made you go back into that room if the men were fighting?"

Adrianna looked at her hands, breaking eye contact.

"I… still had to clean the room…?" There was a slight questioning tone to her voice that was only heightening Cho's suspicions. But if you were to look at him, you would think he was almost bored of the conversation.

"And then you found the bodies?" he commented.

"Mmm-hmm." She replied.

"Mrs Cortez, do you have any children?" Cho asked on a sudden whim.

"Yes?"

"Thank you for your time." Cho said shutting his notebook and heading for the door. "We'll be in touch."

**OOOOOoooooOOOOO**

Cho arrived back in the bullpen, where Grace and Rigsby were waiting for him.

"Anything?" Grace asked.

Cho took his coat off and hung it over the back of his chair before sitting down. "I need you to run a background check on Adrianna Cortez. Find out if she has any children and if they have any relation to the victim."

"Sure thing Cho." Van Pelt replied as she turned to her computer. After a couple of moments a picture flashed up on the screen. "Names Lucio Cortez. Nothing cross references him with the victim…" she paused, reading ahead. "But he does work at the restaurant that Mark Carmichael owns."

Cho nodded.

"I thought he might."

"What's that supposed the mean?" Rigsby asked.

"It's a bit strange that Mrs Cortez heard Robbie fighting with a man named Mark, and yet she didn't hear multiple gunshots coming from the room directly above her." From Van Pelt's confused stare, he continued. "I was in the staffing lounge today. It's the room under the murder victims apartment. She would have heard the shots, whether the gun had a silencer on it or not."

"You think she's good for it?" Rigsby asked leaning back on his chair.

"What would her motive be though?" Van Pelt asked.

"Dirty laundry?" Rigsby said with a smirk.

Cho shook his head at his partner.

"No I don't think she's good for it. When I asked her to repeat her statement, she took that literally, said the same story word for word… almost as if it had been rehearsed."

"So we go and talk to the son?"

Cho nodded.

"Great!" Rigsby said as they grabbed their jackets. "I'm hungry."

**OOOOOoooooOOOOO**

They arrived at the restaurant to find Mark in a fight with one of his employees. Cho and Grace flashed their badges at the guys, who had stopped their fight to stare at the two agents.

"What's going on here?" Cho asked, cutting straight to it.

"This man…" Mark said, pointing at his employees chest. "..has been poisoning my food."

"Get your grimy finger _off _of me!" the employee shouted, swiping Marks hand away.

"Gentlemen, I think it would be a good idea to take this conversation elsewhere… don't you think?" Grace patronized.

The two men nodded and walked towards the staffroom, followed closely by the three agents.

On her way past, Van Pelt whispered to Rigsby; "Poison… maybe the seafood chowder is a bad idea Wayne." She smirked at his disappointed face. "We'll get take out on the way back." She said patting his shoulder, before following the rest of them through to the staffroom.

"Are you Lucio Cortez?" Cho asked flatly, after they had taken a seat.

The other man nodded.

"What were you two arguing about?" Grace asked again, directing the question at Mark.

"I've been getting complaints from several of my customers the last couple of weeks, something about them getting sick after eating my food.. and I just couldn't understand why. My seafood is fresh and is always prepared properly. And then one of my other employers came to me before you guys arrived, telling me they had seen _him,_ slipping something into the food." He said pointing at Lucio again.

"Is that true Mr Cortez?" Rigsby asked taking a step forward.

Lucio only smirked.

"Yeah, she saw me adding salt." He shook his head again. "You know ever since he took this place off of me, it's been going under."

"Wait, you used to own this place?" Grace asked skeptically."

" I won the restaurant in a poker match." Mark said proudly.

"You cheated." Lucio grumbled.

"Can't have… the deeds have my name on them." Mark smirked.

"Ok, so let me get this straight… you used to own this place…" Cho said nodding towards Lucio, "…and you own it now…" Mark nodded. "…and now that you own it people have been getting sick?"

"Yup that just about sums it up." Lucio stated.

"No!" Mark protested. "I make sure everything is cooked properly! and I order the produce myself. I was his manager before I won the place… I did all of that for him anyway. It's not some rookie mistake."

Cho turned his attention back to Lucio.

"Mr Cortez, did you know your mother found the bodies?"

Lucio nodded stiffly.

"Must be hard for her.. tell me… does your mother have hearing problems?"

Lucio shook his head.

"No? why do you ask?"

"Because in her statement, she told us she heard an argument and went down to the staffing lounge… which is directly under the victim's room." Van Pelt continued, noticing Cho had left the room.

"What has that got to do with anything?"

"Kind of strange she didn't hear any gunshots… isn't it Mr Cortez?" Rigsby said, taking his turn.

Lucio started shaking his head.

"Oh I see where you're going with this! You're not pinning this on me."

"Mr Cortez, I think Robbie saw you spiking the food when he was looking around to sell, and I think he was going to tell on you. So you showed up to his apartment and killed him."

"You're crazy. All of you!"

"That's not what my therapist says." Van Pelt piped up.

Lucio looked at her incredulously.

"You have no proof."

"Actually we do." Cho said, walking in with a gun held between a cloth. "I found this in your locker Lucio. It's a 9mm. The same that killed Robbie and Ursula." Cho looked Lucio in the eye. "Tell you what, you tell us the truth now and we might be able to cut you a deal."

The three agents could see Lucio's thoughts buzzing around his head. Many emotions flitted across his face, until finally his shoulders deflated.

"Fine." He grumbled.

Cho nodded to Rigsby, who stepped forward and handcuffed him.

"We'll discuss this downtown." He said leading him out.

"Mark, we'll be in touch." Van Pelt said before following Cho and Rigsby.

**OOOOOoooooOOOOO**

Back at CBI HQ, Cho had taken the lead in interviewing Lucio, while Van Pelt and Rigsby stood watching behind the two-way glass.

"Tell me what happened Mr Cortez."

Lucio looked down at his hands.

"I heard that Mark was going to sell my restaurant… the place I rose practically from the ground. So I told him he could just hand the deeds back over to me… but the greedy son of a bitch said he wanted the profits… so I started adding a little of this and that to the food. I thought if the restaurants reputation went down the plughole, no one would want to buy it… and he would be forced to hand the deeds over anyway."

"Where you could bring it back to its former glory." Cho finished for him.

"Right."

"How did that get Robbie and Ursula Johnston killed?"

"You guys nailed it before. Robbie saw me spike one of the meals, and we had an argument… he was going to tell on me… and then I would never get my restaurant back… so my Ma told me she cleaned his room. I went there using her key… and well… Ursula just happened to be there at the time… she saw my face."

Cho nodded.

"Well… it looks like you won't be getting your restaurant back anytime soon anyway… enjoy your life." He said getting up and walking out of the room, before Lucio could say anything else.

**OOOOOoooooOOOOO**

Back at the hospital Lisbon was reading her book again, and Jane was sitting on his recliner solving a Sudoku puzzle. It was nice to be able to sit in a companionable silence as they entertained their minds to their own desires. They were both brought out of their thoughts when Jane's phone started ringing. He smiled at Lisbon before taking the phone out of the room to answer.

Lisbon lay there smiling softly to herself. She was loving having him here. And soon she would get to go home. All that was left of her day was to eat the evening meal and sleep. She was holding down food, and the doctors were happy with her hydration levels and urine output, so she would indeed be able to go home to her own bed in the morning.

A few minutes later, Jane came back into the room with an unreadable expression on his face.

"What's wrong?" Lisbon asked, sitting up higher in the bed.

"That was Grace… she said they solved the case." Jane said sitting back in his chair.

Lisbon looked at him confused.

"And that's a bad thing how?"

"The victim was killed because he caught one of the employees at a restaurant poisoning the food."

"Oh…"

"It was the same restaurant we went to a couple of nights ago Lisbon."

"Right…"

She was speechless. How ironic that the place she got sick from, didn't just give her normal food poisoning… but it was someone actually trying to sabotage a restaurant.

"Well at least he's been caught I guess." Lisbon said.

Jane couldn't help but feel extremely angry. The man that was in CBI custody nearly killed Lisbon. Already being a man familiar with revenge, Jane couldn't help but feel his blood boil. He wanted to hurt the man… _oh he wanted to hurt him bad_.

"I'm sorry Lisbon." Jane said softly.

"What for Jane? You didn't tell the man to spike my food."

"But I still shouldn't have let you eat there. I had a bad feeling about the place… I should have convinced you to get the salad with me."

Lisbon shook her head softly.

"Jane…"

"Don't Lisbon. No matter what you say I'm still going to feel guilty."

"Jane, what's done is done… and I'm ok now. I get to go home tomorrow and then we can get back to normal."

Jane nodded slightly. He knew that she couldn't make him feel less guilty, but he also knew that he couldn't stop her from trying.

Lisbon lay back in her bed again, quite sure Jane wouldn't try anything again. While she couldn't wait to get out of the hospital, she really hoped things would go back to _normal_, and that Jane would stop pushing her away and brooding in his attic. She really hoped this reunited friendship would last. She had missed him terribly the last few weeks…

**Please review! They make me happy and they also give me drive to update faster!x**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N I'll have to admit this was more of a filler chapter… but it needed to be done and I've even thrown a small cliffy at the end =]**

**Thank you to my reviewers and followers! Cookies for all of you! =] x**

Rosie was working the nightshift again. Around three, she came to check on Lisbon's vitals, to find Jane yet again forcing himself to stay awake.

"Mr Jane this is not healthy!" she scolded.

Jane smiled tiredly at her.

"I couldn't sleep."

"Codswallop." Rosie retorted. She scribbled something down on Lisbon's file before turning back to Jane, hands on hips.

"If you can't sleep… then I'm Elvis… or you two are actually married." She said with a raised eyebrow. She wore an amused expression that seemed to shout _don't mess with me_!

Jane chuckled.

"How long have you known?"

"Since yesterday morning, when you were asleep… I told Ms Lisbon to let her _husband _sleep and she was utterly confused. But I had already known, that was me just confirming my hunch." She looked at the sleeping Lisbon. "Unless you two were newlyweds… no husband would stay at their wife's side the way you have… drive themselves to exhaustion just to make sure she's ok. Whatever you two have going on, it's all very new and tentative."

"You're a very smart woman Rosie." Jane whispered.

Rosie nodded in approval and agreement.

"That I am Mr Jane. That I am." She squinted her eyes at him. "And because I'm so smart Mr Jane, I think you should listen to me when I say you need to sleep."

Jane smiled softly.

"Rosie, you may be a smart person, but you are not smarter than me." he smiled sardonically.

"You're not going to let me win this, are you?" Rosie asked from harsh defeat.

"No, my dear. I am not." Jane sat up in his chair. "Now, if you're finished mothering me, I'm going to continue watching and protecting."

Rosie shook her head.

"You really are a strange one Mr Jane."

"That's what I hear."

"Good night Mr Jane."

"Good night Rosie."

As soon as the nurse left the room, Jane snuck a look back at Lisbon, making sure she truly was asleep, before pulling out his notebook from behind the chair's cushion.

He flicked through the pages, until he found the one that had been read so many times, that the dog tags had tags. He stared down at the name that had given him the chills for the last week or so. Bob Kirkland.

He couldn't decide why the man played on his nerves… but something about him, didn't sit quite right.

Shrugging, he put the notebook back in the inside pocket of his coat. He knew if Lisbon knew he was sitting here obsessing over Red John, instead of sleeping like he promised he would, there would be hell to pay.

He honestly had tried to sleep, but he was too hyped up, and then he had decided it was much more fun to watch Lisbon anyway. She had muttered several times in her sleep, and had somehow managed to curl herself around the pillow, like it was some kind of square shaped teddy.

Jane sighed.

He hadn't left this room in nearly three days, excluding the need to shower and eat, and it had taken a toll on his already jumbled nerves.

He hadn't taken this much time off of Red John in weeks, and his mind was itching to get back to hunting this bastard… but another part of him knew Lisbon would never truly forgive him, if he were to leave her bedside to continue his search. Sure she would at least pretend to understand, but he knows her far too well. More so than he would ever let on. She would be crushed if she thought he had chosen Red John over her.

Jane settled back in his chair, watching Lisbon as she muttered something incoherent. He smirked at her un-Lisbon-like mutterings, before reaching out and smoothing his hand through her hair. She truly is remarkable, and it breaks his heart that some maniac had nearly killed her. Sure the poison wasn't targeted at her specifically, but he still had this growing urge to kill the bastard who had caused her so much pain.

Jane stayed up the rest of the night, thinking up creative ways to kill Lucio Cortez. It was an interesting thought that the colourful killings of his imagination, was always a name with no face. He'd never met Lucio Cortez, and he had never knowingly seen Red John.

**OOOOOoooooOOOOO**

Lisbon woke up the next morning to a feeling of contentment. She was going home.. and hopefully she should be back to work in no time. Although this had been a rough couple of days, she had also felt like she had needed the break… it was just sad that this seemed to be the only way she could get it.

Laying around in a hospital bed had started to take its toll. If Jane hadn't have been here, she would have gone off her rockers.

She rolled over to look at said person, to see a pale, ragged face staring back at her. He looked terrible.

"You didn't sleep did you." It wasn't a question.

Jane shook his head, not even having the energy to come up with some witty remark.

"Jane…"

He cleared his throat and sat up to look at her.

Lisbon almost gasped when she saw his face properly. He looked like he had two black eyes and his skin was white and almost droopy with fatigue.

"I'm ok Lisbon. This isn't my first sleepless night, and I'm sure it won't be my last."

"You look like crap."

"Says the person in the hospital bed." He snapped. He wasn't angry at her, not really. He was just slightly fed up at everyone telling him what he should and shouldn't do.

Lisbon turned away. She almost felt like she was invading on his privacy. It wasn't very often that Jane snapped at her, and when he did, she knew that it must be for some unmentioned reason, not from what she had actually said.

"Lisbon… I'm sorry."

Lisbon turned back to look at him in the eye.

"It's ok Jane… I just worry is all.. and I don't want to be the cause of your sleeplessness."

Jane sighed.

"Well if it's any consolation, I did try to sleep this time, I just couldn't shut my brain off."

"Now why doesn't that surprise me." Lisbon muttered.

"Snarky Lisbon. I think it really is time you went home. You're mean when you're bored."

Lisbon cracked an intended smile.

"Get me out of here." Jane nodded once, before pulling himself out of the chair, in order to search for Lisbon's doctor.

**OOOOOoooooOOOOO**

Lisbon was discharged just after midday after another mix up with rosters. Jane had sat in her room with her, every bit as frustrated as she, and it had taken another two trips out to the nurse's station, before someone finally came in with Lisbon's discharge papers.

Lisbon's doctor had been in to see her earlier, and he had said that he was very pleased with her progress, and as long as she kept her fluid levels up, didn't over exert herself and kept an eye on her urine output, she would be just fine.

Cho had dropped Jane's car off earlier that morning, seeing as Jane had elected himself to drive her home.

Lisbon had protested, albeit weakly, that he shouldn't be driving if he hadn't slept, but Jane had waved her off with a soft "Meh."

Once they were outside Lisbon apartment, she couldn't help but feel a little sad that they wouldn't be seeing each other as much.

She couldn't have stopped the words from coming out of her mouth if she had have tried.

"Would you like to come in for a bit?" she could have slapped herself when she saw his eyes widen in confusion. Obviously he _was_ tired if he had let that one slip past his usually impenetrable mask.

"Ahh… sure. Why not?"

Jane wasn't sure why he was feeling so awkward about this. It was only a few days ago that he had rushed forward, stolen the key out from under the doormat and let himself inside… now he was feeling nervous and confused at what she was potentially asking. Things really had changed over the last couple of days. _Damn that woman._

He got out of the car and walked around to help her out. She was still quite weak and was exhausted by the time she had made it inside. Jane lead her to the couch, before going into the kitchen and making them both some tea.

When he returned, Lisbon had flicked the TV on to a screening of _Pretty Woman. _

"I love this movie." She said taking her tea from Jane. "It's been such a long time since I saw it last. You mind?"

"Not at all." Jane said taking a seat at the other end of the couch.

Throughout the movie, Jane couldn't help but look over at Lisbon. He could see she had a soft spot for Richard Geer, and it amused him to no end. But he also couldn't help realise that a soft spot was forming for him. He had seen the way she had looked at him when she realised he hadn't slept. She was concerned, and not just in a maternal way. He had almost seen on her face, that she had wanted to reach out, to comfort his 'pain', but instead she had turned away… allowed him a small reprieve as he calmed himself down.

He was touched really.

He knows he had always had a soft spot for her in his heart, and he probably always would. They had been through so much together and he would be damned if he was going to let her get away this time. It was funny to think he had struggled only a few days ago with the whole boss, colleague, friend thing… and now here he was, about to readily admit to himself he felt something more. He would never admit it out loud though. As long as Red John still drew breath, he would never 'out himself.'

Lisbon could feel Jane watching her. She wasn't sure what he was thinking about, but she also wasn't sure she even wanted to know. She did however, want to know how he was feeling.

"Are you alright Jane?" she asked turning to look at him. His head had lolled to the back of the couch, and she could see he was having trouble keeping his eyes open. Obviously two nearly sleepless nights had taken its toll on him.

"You're asking _me _if _I'm _alright?" he asked adding extra emphasis to the me and I'm.

She nodded in response and he chuckled slightly.

"Oh Lisbon…" he shook his head. "I'm ok. Being honest, I'm tired, but I'm ok. You on the other hand, were only discharged an hour or so ago… and you're already putting everyone else before yourself."

"It's my job Jane."

"And you're not at work right now… are you?"

Lisbon shook her head. Ok so he had a point, but she still wasn't giving up that easy.

"… and if you don't start looking after _yourself _you'll end up getting _admitted._"

Jane sighed in defeat. He knew there was no use arguing with her, she would just tire herself out.

"Fine."

"Fine?"

"That's what I said."

Lisbon nodded, and before either of them knew what she was doing, she had pulled him towards her, placing his head into her lap.

"Sleep." She ordered, feeling a little flustered.

"What? Now?"

"Now."

Jane rolled his eyes but complied anyway. He toed off his shoes and tucked his legs onto the couch, before making a point of it and cuddling into Lisbon's legs. He had been completely taken off guard when she had pulled him towards her, but he had seen she was just as surprised and flustered as he had been. He would always get the last laugh. No matter how metaphorical it was.

**OOOOOoooooOOOOO**

Jane had been asleep for nearly three hours, and Lisbon had contented herself with finishing off _Pretty Woman, _watching the next trashy rom-com that had come on, and to her own personal delight, running her fingers through his hair. She had always wondered what his golden locks would feel like, and she was pleased to know that they felt just as good as they looked.

She was snapped out of her happy state by Jane's phone ringing.

"Damn." She swore under her breath when she felt Jane stir. She was hoping he was going to get a little more sleep.

Groggily, Jane sat up, fishing his phone out of his jacket pocket.

"Mmm?" he answered.

"Jane… it's Grace."

"Oh hi Grace." Jane ran a hand over his face, trying to wake himself up. "What's up?"

"Jane… Lucio Cortez was found murdered in his jail cell around midday."

"Oh?" He couldn't help but feel a small rush of something that mixed between contentment and annoyance. He had wanted to be the one to kill the bastard that had hurt Lisbon.

"Jane… he was murdered."

"Where are you going with this Grace?"

There was a momentary silence on the other end of the phone.

"Patrick…" he could hear the tentative sound to her voice. He felt the hairs on his neck stand up, even before she uttered the next words. "He was killed by Red John."

**So Red John is going to make an appearance… well kind of. We never really see him… but his marks will be there anyway…**

**Please let me know what you thought of this in a review! I love getting them… and more reviews mean faster updates =D x**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N I had a major writers block… so this was written over a course of about four blocks… I hope it still makes some form of sense. **

**Thank you to all my reviewers. You're all truly wonderful. xx**

_"Patrick…" he could hear the tentative sound to her voice. He felt the hairs on his neck stand up, even before she uttered the next words. "He was killed by Red John."_

Jane stood up and made his way across the living room, sparing a quick glance at Lisbon.

"You're sure?"

"Textbook Red John." Grace replied over the phone. "He was found an hour ago by prison guards, SACPD called us. Me and Rigsby are on our way there now."

Jane turned away from Lisbon, not wanting her to see his face.

"Thank you Grace."

"Jane, he's left a note for you. It hasn't been read, but it's addressed to you."

"I'll be there soon."

He ended the conversation and looked at Lisbon.

"What's happened?" she asked from her spot on the couch.

"Red John." Jane brought a hand up to his face, all remains of his pleasant sleepy state completely gone.

"Who?" Lisbon whispered. From the look in Jane's eye, she was scared it was someone they knew.

He turned back to face at her. She was perched on the edge of her seat, fear prominent in her features.

"Lucio Cortez." He answered.

"The killer from the Johnston case?"

Jane nodded and made his way back to the couch.

"Lisbon… there's a note…"

"Go Jane." Lisbon said understanding straight away. She could see the reluctance on his face over leaving her. While she really didn't want him to leave, just the fact the he didn't want to leave, made all the difference. It made her ok over letting him go.

"Lisbon…"

"I'll be alright. I think I should probably sleep for a bit anyway."

Jane nodded, already back on his feet looking for his keys.

"You call me if you need me. Ok? I'll come right back."

Lisbon smiled. She liked this new caring side of Jane.

"I'll call later." He added, standing awkwardly in the doorway.

"Go Jane." Lisbon said again, though the tone of her voice was soft.

He nodded. "Right."

"Bye Jane."

Jane nodded and was halfway out the door before he thought better of it and turned around again.

"Anything at all Lisbon… you call me…"

"Goodbye Patrick." She said a little more firmly.

She saw Jane take one last look at her, before nodding his head once and walking out the door.

She leant against the couch and blew out a lungful of air. Ok so she likes Jane being there for her as a friend… but the fact that he was reluctant to leave, even when _Red John _shows up… she was beginning to wonder what was becoming of them…

**OOOOOoooooOOOOO**

He could feel his heart beginning to race, and could feel that all too familiar twinge of nausea, that came every time he looked into the tripled stroke of the bloody eyed face. Tearing his gaze away from Red John's symbol, he focused on the bloody massacre of the man that used to be Lucio Cortez.

He was lying on the floor of his prison cell, throat slit, eyes staring into abyss.

"Red John doesn't usually kill males, why would he change his M.O now?" Grace asked softly.

"The note." Jane answered quietly. "You said he left a note addressed to me."

Rigsby came forward with a pair of gloves, indicating for Jane to put them on before he got the letter.

Jane sighed. Not being one to usually obey forensic law, he wouldn't normally see the point in wearing gloves, especially for Red John. They wouldn't find anything anyway. Red John doesn't make mistakes.

He looked up at Rigsby almost incredulously, but took the gloves all the same.

He tore open the envelope, which had been addressed with a simple _Patrick._ to find a single word printed in the middle of the paper.

_Obligation._

"Obligation? Well what does that mean?" Rigsby asked from behind Jane.

"It means he's testing me." Jane replied with a worried look in his eye. He handed the letter to Rigsby for forensics, before rushing out of the cell.

"What was all that about?" Grace asked, coming to stand by Rigsby.

Rigsby shook his head in reply.

"I… don't know?" he replied slowly.

**OOOOOoooooOOOOO**

Back in his car, Jane was speeding back towards Lisbon's apartment. How could he have been so stupid?

He had left her alone and vulnerable… Red John could have gotten to her… he banged the steering wheel in frustration.

_Obligation._

"I scratch your back, you scratch mine." Jane murmured.

What the hell was he thinking? Leaving Lisbon alone while she had been so sick. She was exhausted walking up her apartment steps… there would be no way she could defend herself.. from anyone.

He stepped down harder on the gas, trying to get to her faster.

He arrived at her house and ran up the path, and with a sinking heart opened the door that wasn't locked.

He burst into her empty living room, taking in the tidy array of furniture.

_No sign of a struggle…_

He ran up the stairs, slowing as he got to her bedroom door, which had been left slightly ajar.

Taking a deep breath, he opened the door, slowly at first, before swinging it open all the way and rushing into her bedroom.

"Lisbon!"

The bundle on the bed stirred slightly and Jane was met with green sleepy eyes.

"Jane?" she asked, concerned. "What's wrong? What's happened?"

Jane shut his eyes, and breathed a sigh of relief, begging his heart to slow down.

"Lisbon." He breathed walking over to her an enveloping her in a hug, before he had even registered what he was doing.

"Jane?"

Jane let her go and moved to sit on the end of the bed.

"The note… it said obligation… I thought…"

"You thought what Jane?"

Jane rubbed a hand down his face.

"Red John killed Lucio Cortez because his actions hurt you… and now he's saying I owe him." He sighed in slight frustration, at her still vacant expression. "I thought that meant he was going to hurt you."

He hung his head.

"Jane… that makes no sense."

Lisbon shifted so she was sitting higher in the bed, so she could see Jane more clearly.

"Yes it does… he wanted your dead body as proof of my loyalties… he knows my loyalties lie with you. So he kills Cortez as a _favour_ to me… and now he thinks I owe him."

Lisbon shook her head.

"Why would that cause him to come after me though?"

Jane looked away from her, staring at his fidgeting hands.

"I don't know… I jumped to conclusions. I panicked."

Lisbon watched as his brow wrinkled in frustration.

"Hey, it's ok. You're worn out… you've been worried about me… I guess at the moment your mind is going to automatically jump to my demise."

Jane chuckled softly.

"That wasn't meant to be funny." Lisbon added.

"Well, if obligation didn't mean you… then what… or who, did it mean?"

Lisbon shook her head softly.

"I don't know Jane… I really don't know."

**OOOOOoooooOOOOO**

Jane stayed at Lisbon's that evening, not wanting to let her out of his sight until his nerves calmed a little. He knew he was being silly, and over protective, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen to her.

They had shared Chinese take-out and after clearing up, had both settled down to watch old reruns of House.

"You know, you guys are very similar." Lisbon said with a smirk on her face.

"Easy Lisbon… I'm not quite as mean as him."

"But you break all the rules…"

"Well I guess that's true… and we are both geniuses… hmmm." Jane said thoughtfully. "I guess we could be classed as similar… though I don't have a limp."

Lisbon smirked.

"Great analogy there Jane."

"Hmph. You seem to share a few similarities yourself Lisbon." Jane said, trying to nurse his ego of Lisbon's sarcasm.

"What? Me? to house? Nah-ah. I'm more of a Cuddy."

Jane shifted and smirked.

"Do enlighten me."

"Well… we're both female bosses… we both have dark hair… and we both have to deal with pain in the arse men… and when I say men… I mean we have a man each… not several different ones to control."

"You make that sound so domineering. Only you could do that my dear Lisbon."

Lisbon looked down, trying to hide her blush. Whenever he called her 'his dear Lisbon' she couldn't help but feel a certain _want_.

She watched as House knocked on Cuddy's door to find her dishevelled and crying. 'You'd have made a great mother.'

Lisbon watched the half hearted fight break out between them, followed by the kiss.

"Do you ever regret the path you chose?" Jane suddenly piped up.

Lisbon could see that far away look in his eye and she knew she was in for a 'deep and meaningful'.

"What do you mean Jane?"

He continued to stare to the television, where House had just made a hasty exit.

"_Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,__  
__And sorry I could not travel both__  
__And be one traveler, long I stood__  
__And looked down one as far as I could__  
__To where it bent in the undergrowth."_

"Now you're reciting poetry?"

"Robert Frost."

"Ok?"

"You would make an excellent mother too, Lisbon." He said, turning to look at her.

Lisbon felt her cheeks stain red. Where was all of this coming from?

"Jane…" she said a little sternly. Lisbon wasn't one to eagerly jump into personal conversations with her co-workers.

"What about having a personal conversation with a friend?" Jane said knowingly.

Lisbon jumped. Sometimes she thought he really was psychic.

"Do you ever think you chose the wrong way of life?" Jane asked again.

Lisbon shook her head.

"Why?" Jane asked softly.

Lisbon looked away, focusing on a spot on the wall.

"I like my job. It was my choice. And I'm not having this discussion with you." She turned back to look at him. "Friend or no." she said a little softer.

Jane nodded, knowing this was probably going to be the most he was going to get out of her tonight.

"_I shall be telling this with a sigh__  
__Somewhere ages and ages hence:__  
__Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,__  
__I took the one less traveled by,__  
__And that has made all the difference."_ Jane got up and headed for the door.

"I hope you know you have friends Lisbon. You're not alone."

Lisbon nodded, completely confused again. Where was all of this coming from?

"I'm going to head back to the office for a bit. See where they are going with the case." Jane said as he put his jacket on and picked up his keys. "Do you need anything?"

Lisbon shook her head in reply again.

"Lock the door when I leave. I'll call in an hour."

"Night Jane." She said quietly.

"Night Lisbon… oh and by the way… I've thought of another comparison…"

"Mmm?" Lisbon asked looking up at him.

"House really likes his boss."

Lisbon stared speechless at Jane. _What the bloody hell?_

She caught a glimpse of his almost surprised smile as he left, before she realized she was smiling too.

Jane made it out the door before he cringed internally. The one thing he had promised himself, that he wouldn't say anything to Lisbon until Red John was killed… and now?

_Idiot. Complete idiot…_ but the look on her face when he had said that though… almost totally worth it.

**? still with me? please leave me a review and let me know what you thought =] x**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE! I'm so sorry it has been so long since I have updated… I guess this is why they call it the silly season, because I've been flat out!**

**I hope you all had amazing holidays and are ready to start the new year off with a bang!**

**Speaking of which, I'm really excited for next week's episode! I hope we have some awesome Volker scenes, followed by some Jisbon love and comfort! =D**

**Anyway I'm kinda unsure about this chapter. It's a bit la-de-da in the way I don't think it makes much sense.**

**But I hope you enjoy it all the same!**

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed and followed and favourite the last chapter! You're all fantastical!**

**This chapter is dedicated to bluelaguna, who beta-read this for me =] x**

**Right sorry about the long a/n, on with it =] x **

Jane greeted the team with coffee and bear claws, as he knew they would have been working hard on this case for him. He settled himself on his couch and looked expectantly at Grace. Getting the hint straight away, Van Pelt handed the file to Jane.

"No prints, no DNA and the security cameras were switched off fifteen minutes prior to the murder…"

"So a typical Red John case then… no evidence." Jane muttered in response. He looked up at Grace's disheartened face. "Did you really expect anything else?"

Grace shook her head.

"No, I just wish you could cut a break."

Jane smiled slyly and watched as Rigsby cleared his throat and shifted uncomfortably.

"I wish that too Grace… so very much."

He nodded to each member of the team, before picking up one of the files and making his way up to his attic. He sat down at his desk and stared out the window.

**OOOOOoooooOOOOO**

Lisbon sat staring at the door that Jane had left through nearly half an hour ago. The next episode of House had started, but her mind could no longer focus on the show.

'… _oh and by the way… I've thought of another comparison… House really likes his boss.'_

House really like his boss… as in… Jane really likes her?

But in what way?

Did he really like her in a colleague… or a sibling… or a best friend kind of way...

She shook her head, still just as confused now, as she had been when she began contemplating his meanings nearly half an hour ago.

She was coming up dry on what he had meant. Had he meant it literally? That they get on well… or did he mean he actually _like_-liked her?

Having been a true House fan, she knew very well what House had meant when he had told Cuddy he liked her. But did Jane know what he had meant? Had he seen the rest of the season?

She brought her hands up to her face, digging the heel of her hand into her temples in frustration.

Of course he knew what it meant. He had seen the kissing scene… and then he had gone all sentimental on her, asking her if she was happy with the direction she had taken in life.

Yes she loves her job… but there were certain times when she really wished that she had considered the other path. Where would she be right now if she wasn't so hell-bent on getting out of Chicago and into the force… would she still be with Greg? Married with a couple of kids? … white picket fence, comfortable job… comfortable life…

Who was she kidding? She wasn't the type to lead a life of _comfort._ She had always been in for the thrill of the chase.

And Jane certainly had been a thrill… there had always been _something_ there… but no moment had ever arisen that had allowed her to act on her feelings. She had always been cautious of keeping Jane at arm's length. At heart he was still a married man, and until he caught Red John, he always would be.

Since she had gotten sick though, she had noticed this certain air about him. He had become more protective towards her… and she had to admit, that while she was usually the one doing the protecting… it was nice to see Jane showing his caring side. She really did enjoy him being there for her.

**OOOOOoooooOOOOO**

Obligation.

What… or who had Red John meant?

Obligation?

Jane ran his hand over his face in frustration.

_Obligation._

_OBLIGATION._

Jane put his head down and sighed. It had been nearly two hours since he had left Lisbon's house, and his head was beginning to spin. It didn't matter how he said the word, he just couldn't decipher Red John's message.

And then there was what he had said to Lisbon before leaving her house… _how could he have been so stupid?_

He had gone against everything he had believed in, and thrown her straight into the firing line. He had always believed that he would tell Lisbon of his feelings after Red John had been killed. He had toyed with the idea for so long that Lisbon was only his boss and friend… he had thought it so much, that he almost got to the stage where he, himself believed it.

It was a sad thought that he had slipped it in like that. If he was being completely honest with himself, he knew that he would have rather have told her in a more romantic way… not through reference to a television programme.

The look on Lisbon's face after he had 'spilled the beans' though… she had looked completely bewildered… if not a little flattered.

The smile on her face had been a rare gift. It had been a while since he had seen her truly smile… with Volker still on the loose. She had thrown herself completely into the chase, the same way he was obsessed with Red John. He would be lying if he said he wasn't worried about her. He had seen first-hand what unhealthy obsessions did to you.

He was broken out of his thoughts by a knock at his attic door.

"It's open." he called out.

He turned around to see Van Pelt walking through the door with her laptop in her hands.

"Ahh, Grace… to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I think I may have found something." Grace said setting her laptop down.

"Oh?" he asked turning towards her.

She flicked to the page she was after, bringing up an old newsprint. There was a picture of the victim standing next to a young farmer.

"Lucio Cortez was in leagues with Todd Johnson?" Jane asked incredulously.

"It seems they were high school friends." Grace replied.

"Well that's interesting..."

"Jane? Do you think he was working for Red John?"

Jane shook his head.

"It's a possibility… but I really don't know." He ran a hand through his hair. "Not every person Todd Johnson knew was necessarily in leagues with Red John too…"

"I guess we'll never know." Grace said quietly, almost sounding sad.

"Don't be disheartened Grace… talk to his mother again. Ask her if Lucio ever did a building apprenticeship, or if he ever knew someone called Roy… or anything else that may have an relations to Red John."

"On it." she gave him a soft smile before picking up her laptop and leaving the attic.

Jane turned back to the window.

_Todd Johnson. Now there was a name he hadn't heard in a while. _

Which brought him back to Red John.

As far as Jane knew, Red John had only ever used people for his own purposes. Rosalind Harker seemed to be the only true soul Red John had shown an ounce of care for. There had been no real motive for him to befriend her, if not for his own needs.

Rebecca had been a tool in Red John's game. An undercover disciple, strategically placed to try to outwit and in a way, evaluate Jane. She had been nothing more than a test, a game in Red John's mind, to try to toy with him.

Lorelei on the other hand.. truly believed that Red John had saved her. But Jane could see that she really wasn't anymore than another stepping stone towards ruining Jane's life even further. In Red John's mind she had been a gift. A small reprieve in his lonely world, and Jane had willingly, and knowingly taken the bait.

Jane's eyes snapped open.

_Shit._

_Obligation._

He stood up and ran down towards the parking lot, not stopping once until he reached his Citroen. Unlocking the door, he climbed inside and sped down the freeway. He turned his hazard lights on as his car picked up speed. He fished his cell phone out of his pocket and hit one on speed dial.

"Pick up your damn phone." He growled.

He swore when he reached voicemail, shaking his head as tears of frustration tried to squeeze out of his eyes.

He pulled up to Lisbon's apartment, pulling up to the curb carelessly, and abandoning the car, still in gear before running full force up to the door. He barged in through the door, knowing very well it would no longer be locked.

As he was charging up the stairs, a sudden sense of déjà vu began to plague his mind. She would be fine. He was worrying about nothing again.

He slowly pushed the door at the end of the hallway, until it had swung completely open.

The site on the other side of the door had him crumple to his knees, in pain, shock and anguish.

The bed was empty…

…and on the wall above the bed was a bloody face… smiling down at him.

**Well it was a lot shorter than I thought it was going to be… but please leave me a review and let me know what you think =D xx**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N Sorry about the wait… the cliffy at the end of the last chapter came out of nowhere and I had to re-evaluate my entire direction with this fic… but now that I have hopefully the updates will come quicker.**

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter!**

**This chappie goes out to Neverfly, who gave me a kick in the virtual rare to get this up. Thanks! XD**

He wasn't sure how long he stood there before finally pulling out his cell-phone and dialling 911. He gave out the details, disconnected the call and then rang Cho, not once taking his eye off of the smiley face on the wall.

Cho answered on the second ring.

"Cho."

"Ahh… hmmm"

"Jane?"

"Cho… I'm at Lisbon's… something's happened." Jane brought his hand up to his face. His vision was beginning to blur around the edges.

"Jane, what happened?"

Jane could hardly hear anything and from the dizzying sensation and the burning nausea at the top of his belly, he knew he was about to faint.

"Jane? Jane!"

Cho heard the phone drop, followed by a soft thud.

"Crap." He stood up and grabbed his coat, Van Pelt and Rigsby staring at him curiously.

"What's going on?" Grace asked.

"No idea." Cho replied. "Just got a phone call from Jane, something's happened at Lisbon's. I'm going to check it out."

Grace looked over, catching Rigsby's eye, before they both simultaneously got up and followed Cho out the door.

When they arrived at Lisbon's apartment, they were greeted with the flashing lights of two police cars and an ambulance. They entered the house, flashing their badges on the way through, to find Jane sitting on the couch being looked at by an EMT.

"I'm fine!" he protested. "I just passed out."

"Mr Jane your pulse is hovering around 150 and your BP is sky high. Losing consciousness is always something to be concerned about."

Jane noticed Grace and Rigsby standing in the doorway― Cho had already gone off to find out what was going on.

"Jane!" Grace said coming over to him. "What happened?"

Jane stared helplessly at the two team members, before Cho reappeared.

"You guys need to see this."

**OOOOOoooooOOOOO**

Jane felt like he had been swept up into a tornado of police officers. He was standing in the middle of Lisbon's apartment, while the local PD canvassed the area and forensics dusted her room for prints.

Jane was familiar with this scene, not only professionally, but also personally… he was feeling a slight sense of déjà vu. Even though Lisbon wasn't dead- as far as he could tell, he was worried it would only be a limited amount of time before her body turned up.

Red john had obviously taken her to mess with him. It _had _to have something to do with his message.

_Obligation._

He shook his head in frustration. He wasn't any closer to interpreting his message now, than what he had been a couple of hours ago. He was having slight problems remembering the trigger that had led him to think Lisbon had truly gone missing this time. There had been _something _that had led him to the conclusion… but he just couldn't put his finger on it.

Cho came up to him in that moment, having taken lead on the case in Lisbon's absence.

"Jane, I'm gonna need a statement." He said with a sympathetic look in his eye. Cho knew Jane would be blaming himself for Lisbon's disappearance.

Jane nodded and Cho lead him to one of Lisbon's chairs.

"Ok, start at the beginning. What were you doing when you realised something was wrong?"

Jane gave Cho an exasperated look, to which Cho returned with a confused stare. This wasn't the time for stoic-ness.

"I can't _remember._" Jane looked up helplessly. "I was in the attic thinking and all of a sudden something came to me and I had this feeling Lisbon was in trouble, so I came over here and she was gone." His voice cracked slightly on the word gone.

"I need you to try and remember what you were thinking about Jane. That may well be very important to finding her."

Jane just stared at the Asian man.

"You don't think I don't know that? Come on Cho, for someone who is so smart, you can be unusually unperceptive at times."

Cho looked down to his notebook, not wanting to meet Jane's eyes.

"Just find her, ok?" He said as he got up, leaving Jane alone on the couch to his thoughts. Jane couldn't help but hear the silent _or else._

Ok… so he had been thinking about Red John obviously… and the message he had left him… if Jane knew something, he knew it had to have something to do with that.

_Why couldn't he remember?_

Probably stress. His body and mind were going through a frightening ordeal… probably why he passed out… and the guilt probably had something to do with it too. He should have stayed with her. There was a reason he had stayed with her… had dinner with her… had sat through a couple of hours of House with her… and it wasn't just for the pure enjoyment of spending time with her outside of work. He had been trying to keep her safe.

Jane knew that there was a possibility that Red John would hurt Lisbon, from the moment he signed on with her, but he never knew it would hurt _him_ this much if he actually lost her. He had never intended to become friends with her… to actually _care._

He put his head in his hands, allowing himself to fully enter his memory palace, in the hopes of finding that trigger. He knew he couldn't just backtrack to finding the trigger straight away. If it was lost somewhere in his memory palace, he would have to go the full nine yards into finding it…

He had entered CBI after coming back from Lisbon's. Grace had updated him… no relevant information there.

He skipped ahead to when he was sitting in the attic. He had been thinking about Lisbon… naturally. One of the main thoughts that occupied his mind, her… and Red John.

Grace had come in then, showed him a newsprint. Something to do with… _Todd Johnson._ That's right… he had potentially been in leagues with Lucio Cortez… which was _strange._ What would Red John want to do with an ex owner/operator of a seafood restaurant?

He shook his head… that was beside the point. He could brood over that once Lisbon was found.

_Lisbon._

God he hoped she was ok. She had still been so sick when he had left her. Her being taken by Red John would have been bad under normal circumstances… but adding the sickness into the mix… Jane just really hoped they would find her in time.

Anyway… newspaper article… Todd Johnson… Red John.

Red John has had many disciples over the years, and each and every one had had their different purposes.

Something in the back of his brain clicked.

_Lorelei._

Jane mentally sighed. Of course.

_Obligation._

What was the phrase he had used, while going over the message? …_'I scratch your back, you scratch mine.'_

He scrambled out of the chair in search of Cho.

"I know why he took her." he said in a rush once he found the agent.

Cho said nothing, but retrieved his notebook and pen from his pocket, and looked at him with expectant eyes.

"Obligation." Jane repeated out loud this time.

Cho sighed.

"Red John's message."

Jane nodded.

"Lorelei Martins disappeared because of me."

Cho looked up at him surprised.

"The whole kidnapping really was a scheme?"

Jane nodded sheepishly.

"And the car crash?"

"My doing… I used a branch…"

"You knowingly crashed a car… so a federal convict could escape?"

"Yep."

Cho rolled his eyes.

"What does this have to do with Lisbon?"

"I lost Red John his girl.. ridiculed him in a way… and now he's trying to do the same."

Cho stopped recording his statement and looked up at him with hard eyes.

"Red John took Lisbon, because _you_ lost him Lorelei?"

Jane nodded.

"He thinks I owe him… an eye for an eye so to speak."

Grace, who had been standing a small way away, must have heard the conversation and stepped over with fear evident in her eyes.

"You don't think he'll… kill her… do you?"

Jane shook his head.

"I don't know… I don't think so… he's playing a game with me. I think he just wants to hurt her… and by doing that… he'll be hurting me. If he really wanted her dead, she would be lying under that smiley face upstairs."

Grace visibly shuddered, while Cho just looked sick.

"Where would he take her?" Cho asked, going back into agent mode.

"I… don't know." Jane said sadly.

"Well think." Cho said with a slight amount of venom in his voice. "Find her before there's nothing left to find."

**OOOOOoooooOOOOO**

It had been 32 hours since Lisbon's disappearance and Jane was as close to finding her, as he had been when he walked into her apartment to find her missing.

_Obligation._

Everything seemed to be coming back to that message, and additionally Lorelei. Somehow, the place he had her hidden, had something to do with Lorelei.

Jane looked up from his couch, catching Van Pelt's eye.

"The warehouse… where Lorelei's sister was killed… where was that again?"

He saw a flash of hope in her eye before she returned her gaze to her laptop, looking up the location. He knew the moment she got the right page on the screen, because he deflated as she did.

"It was pulled down shortly after the body was found. It was abandoned anyway… and no one was going to want to get it up and running again after finding a murder victim inside it."

Jane sighed. This was going nowhere. No one had slept since the disappearance and it was beginning to run on their nerves.

"I'm going up to the attic for a while. Call me if anything comes up."

Grace nodded in reply and went back to searching any possibility on her computer.

Jane opened the door to the attic and stepped slowly inside. He flicked the light on, his eyes automatically drawn to his desk.

Sitting on the desk was an envelope, and on top of the envelope was a single yellow flower.

Jane felt heat coursing through his veins as he lunged for the envelope and ripped it open.

_Remember the time._

He nodded down at the piece of paper in his hands, before he backtracked, running back to the bullpen.

His appearance was met with curious eyes.

"I know where she is." he said in a rush.

All eyes were on him now. He waved the piece of paper in front of Grace's.

"I can find her! I know where she is!"

**Next chapter is already in the works. Please let me know what you thought in a review =]**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N thank you so much for the positive feedback! Sorry about the length of the chapter… I'm having trouble finding spare time- just got a new job… and I thought that a short chapter was better than no chapter… please keep the reviews coming… I'm a bit of a review junkie… need my fix =D**

**Research is done through the internet and there is only so much you can learn… and as you all know the internet is not always accurate =]**

**Btw I have recently joined Tumblr if anyone wants to follow me so I can follow them back… the more people I follow the more interesting things I get on my dashboard =]**

**Just delete the spaces or the full link is on my profile =]**

** blog/ megablondie121**

Jane was sitting in the back seat of one of the CBI SUV's, itching in anticipation as they sped down the road, in the hopes of finding Lisbon.

He was scared that she wouldn't actually be there… that they were wasting time checking out this place, when they should be using their energy into looking elsewhere. Jane couldn't shake the idea that by leading everyone out here, he was sending Lisbon to her death… but from the three SUV's filled with agents and the ambulance following in tow, Jane could tell the rest of the team thought it was probably their best idea yet.

They turned onto a country road under Grace's direction and Jane couldn't help but realise that the last time he had travelled down this road, he was in the back of an ambulance. How ironic that now Lisbon would also be travelling back in an ambulance… if she was even here.

They pulled up outside the batch, which from the outside looked to be fairly deserted. The SUV skidded to a halt and Jane was out of the sliding door, before Cho had even completely stopped.

"Jane!" he heard Grace call. "Wait for backup. You can't just go charging in there."

Jane looked at her like she had suggested they kill his puppy.

"Jane, she's right." Rigsby said taking a hold of his forearm, holding him there. "You wouldn't be doing Lisbon any favours by just charging on in there."

At the mention of Lisbon's name, Jane came back to his senses. This was no time for him to go against protocol. He would never forgive himself if she was even worse off because of him… she was in this position because of him in the first place.

"Well what are you waiting for?" he said desperately.

The three remaining team members nodded to the other agents, deciding approach tactics, before finally dispersing out into Lorelei's sister's batch.

Jane stood beside the SUV, trying his best to stay out of the way, while the agents did their job. After only a couple of minutes though, he couldn't take it anymore.

He entered the batch just as the first 'kitchen's clear' was hollered. Several more shouts resounded around from different areas of the house. Finally Jane heard the words he had been waiting for.

"In here!" It was Grace's voice.

Jane bounded in the direction the voice came from, entering a bedroom, already containing three people, several more bustling in that direction.

Grace and Rigsby were crouched next to an unconscious Lisbon who was hooked up to several different tubes.

"Get the paramedics!" Grace called to an agent who was standing in the doorway behind Jane.

Jane stood in the door way unable to move. They had finally found her. He felt a wave of relief wash through him, followed by a sense of impending dread as he took in her appearance now. They had turned Lisbon over into the recovery position, being careful of the tubes sticking out of her arm. She also had a feeding tube up her nose, connected to a bag containing a clear liquid.

The EMT's, a male and a female, came into the room― Grace and Rigsby making room for them, and started checking her over. The female recorded her vitals while the male got to work removing the tubes from her body.

"Heart rate is below 80― pupils pin point and unresponsive, BP is tanking…" the female pinched the skin on the back of Lisbon's hand. "…and she is extremely dehydrated." She looked at her colleague before addressing the agents and Jane. "We need to get her to the hospital ASAP."

"What's he got her on?" Jane asked, finally finding his voice.

"We're not completely sure." The female replied. "From the look of things he has her on some form of opiate… probably a sleep narcotic."

Jane nodded.

Grace looked up with a look of sheer horror on her face. "She had Prerenal ARF…" Grace said trailing off.

The paramedics looked worriedly at each other.

"Let's get her on the gurney." The male said, indicating for the agents to help lift her.

Jane knew that because of the severe dehydration, she would most likely have some serious damage to her kidneys.

They had successfully transferred her to the gurney and placed an oxygen mask over her face, before making their way out the door. Jane followed in a kind of stunned stupor, stepping into the ambulance without permission and sitting to the side, just watching her.

"Her temps at 102.3"

The male got in the front, turning on the sirens and pulled away from the batch, speeding towards the hospital. The female got to work putting in an IV line and adding a saline bag, getting started on the rehydration straight away. Jane sat there, watching Lisbon, glad to get away from the stress of finding her, but also dreading getting into another full forced nightmare… he needed her to be ok.

**OOOOOoooooOOOO**

On arrival, they whisked Lisbon away and Jane was ushered into a waiting room. He sat down on one of the chairs, only to stand up again moments later to pace the room. After his fifth lap of the room, he sat down again. He continued this process until Grace showed up with a worried glint in her eye.

"Jane!" she exclaimed as soon as she saw him. "What's going on?"

Jane sat down beside her with a huff.

"They haven't told me anything since they took her through."

Grace hung her head.

"She has a really high temp… indication of infection… I want to know what the bastard had her on."

Grace reached out and tentatively took Jane's hand. They weren't usually ones to show any form of comfort, but Grace could see Jane was near his breaking point. He hadn't slept properly in over a week and the stress lines were beginning to show through his mask.

"Was there any evidence of his presence… at the batch?" Jane couldn't help but ask. He felt guilty for even thinking about Red John while Lisbon was in such a state, but his mind has been tuned over the years to relate everything back to Red John… it was almost second nature by now.

Grace shook her head.

"Nothing. It seemed as if he set Lisbon up and then left."

Jane couldn't help but feel a little disappointed, but he couldn't dwell on that feeling too long, because at that moment Doctor Howard walked in― the same doctor that helped Lisbon when she was admitted the first time.

"Are you guys here for Agent Lisbon?"

Grace and Jane jumped to their feet.

"How is she?" Jane asked.

"Perhaps you should sit down." The doctor said, motioning to the seats.

Jane couldn't help but feel the cold snake of anxiety slither though his veins.

"Agent Lisbon is in a very bad way. It seems her captor had her on some form of sleeping narcotic, which is making it very hard for us to wake her up."

Jane nodded, remembering the paramedics mentioning that. The doctor looked seriously at them. They could both tell that he hated this part of his job.

"The captor had Agent Lisbon hooked up to a feeding tube… that contained salt water."

Jane heard Grace's intake of breath. He himself felt nauseated by that fact.

Salt water dehydrates the body.

_He must have known about her kidney damage._ Jane thought to himself. _He was dehydrating her on purpose._

He felt a rage surge through him, that he had never experienced before.

"That sonofabitch." He heard Grace state.

"Because of the damage already inflicted to her kidneys, the dehydration has damaged the right kidney beyond repair… they are prepping her for surgery as we speak."

Jane stared at the doctor, unsure of how to respond.

"Mr Jane… at her last stay, Agent Lisbon named you her medical proxy. We need your signature to go ahead with the surgery."

"W-what are the risks, of living with only one kidney?" Jane stuttered, finally finding his voice.

"She will have to go on dialysis… her left is still damaged. Until we can find her a transplant kidney, she will have to come to the hospital several times a week."

"Is there any other way?" Grace asked, knowing full well this disability would cause inconveniences with Lisbon's job.

"I honestly think this is the best course of action to saving her life. She will survive on dialysis. The kidney is irreparable… and she already has a full blown infection."

Jane nodded finally, taking the clipboard from the doctor and signing his consent.

"You save her. No matter what it takes."

**Ok so that turned out to be a bit longer than I thought =] as always please review! I LOVE getting them =P**

**Ps again I'm sorry for any medical errors. x**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N I really do apologize about taking so long to update… and I know it's not really a valid excuse, but I was kinda deterred by the lack of response from the last chapter. I know I'm incredibly inconsistent when it comes to updating, but I do try my best.**

**As always, the internet can only provide so much and I'm sure there are medical errors in there somewhere. **

**Anyway, here's the next chapter for those who are still with me =]**

"Ok, we're done. Close her up."

Dr Howard left the O.R, to go and inform his patient's friends of her condition. The surgery had been a success, but she still wasn't out of the woods yet. The right kidney had been removed successfully, but the left was still rather unhealthy. He was hoping with time and care, the kidney would start to mend, but until then, she would be on dialysis three times a week at the very least.

He rounded the corner to the waiting room, to find the number of the occupants had doubled. The red head now sat by a larger man, and an Asian man currently resided in the other seat. Mr Jane was sitting in a corner chair by the door, with his head down.

All four occupants looked up at him upon entering.

"How is she?" the red head asked, coming to her feet frantically.

"The surgery went well." Doctor Howard replied. "We have her in recovery now, and will be moving her to the ICU soon." He paused for a moment. "We're going to keep her sedated over night, while we get rid of the excess salts and drugs from her body and rehydrate her."

He looked around the room, gauging the Agent's reactions. The red head's eyes were slightly red, whether she had been crying, or she was just exhausted, he didn't know. He had seen some of the coverage on the search for one of the CBI's best Agents on the news, and he knew the investigation had taken a couple of days, he had just had no idea that it was Teresa that had gone missing.

The taller man kept looking at the red head, as if he was waiting for her to break. He took her arm softly and guided her back to her seat, waiting to hear more about his boss and friend. The Asian man on the other hand, looked completely emotionless. Howard wondered for a split second if the man just didn't care… but after a moment he decided it was just a practiced façade. He wouldn't have been here for over four hours during her surgery otherwise.

Mr Jane on the other hand looked completely ragged. Howard could only guess he hadn't slept during the entire investigation. He also remembered having heard from the hospital grapevine about a blonde man watching over his "wife" at nights, not allowing himself to fall asleep. He had to be absolutely exhausted. Howard did the quick mental math and realised the man probably hadn't slept in four nights… five if he was counting tonight. It was around two am now… it was a wonder he hadn't collapsed yet.

"Where do we go from here?" the red head asked, breaking him from his assessment.

"We have her on strong IV antibiotics to help fight off the infection… I'm hoping now the dead tissue has been removed, she will make a quick recovery. Once she has been transferred to the ICU, we will start he on dialysis straight away, to help filter out the excess matter from her blood."

"What about her mental ability?" Jane asked, speaking for the first time since Doctor Howard had left to do the surgery.

The other three agents looked at him worriedly, before returning their gaze to the Doctor.

He walked the few paces, taking a seat next to the Asian man.

He cleared his throat, paused and then started talking. This was the part of his job he really hated; giving bad, or potentially bad news.

"Due to the fact this is the second high grade fever she has had within a week, the extreme and intentional dehydration, and the fact we have no idea yet what other drugs her captor may have had her on, there is a possibility Agent Lisbon might have some altered mental status. We're waiting for the Tox-screen results and post-op bloods to come back from the lab." He watched as the red head's eyes started to fill with tears again. The taller man's hand shot out immediately, trying to offer her some support. "We won't know anything until she wakes up and as I said, she will be medically sedated until morning. The best thing you can do for her at the moment is go home, get some rest and come back tomorrow."

Everyone in the room looked hesitant to leave, and Mr Jane looked like he was about to throw a full on fit.

"Although she will be asleep for the remainder of the night, you may leave your contact details with the nurse, so if we need to get a hold of you, we can with ease." He said indicating to the three agents. He watched as they began to gather their things and stand up. "Mr Jane? May I speak with you for a couple of minutes?"

The other man nodded in reply and Doctor Howard watched as the three agents left the room, each laying a comforting hand on Jane's shoulder on exit.

The doctor smiled at Jane's skeptical expression.

"I'm willing to cut you a deal." Howard said.

"Now what could you possibly want?" he replied shaking his head. "Contact your dead loved one and you'll up her morphine dosage?" Jane asked sarcastically.

The Doctor shook his head. Of course he had read about Jane's past and his family's tragedy.

"Actually I was more going for something that would benefit you completely."

Jane looked at him, slightly shocked.

"If you agree to take a sleeping pill and get a decent night's sleep tonight…" he was cut off by Jane starting to protest. "Let me finish, I told you this was going to benefit you." The Doctor said, and Jane sat back in his seat, closing his mouth like a naughty child. "If you agree to take a sleeping pill and sleep through the night, I will arrange for a cot to be bought into the ICU, and you can sleep next to Agent Lisbon."

Jane stared at him, completely taken aback.

"Why… why would you do that for me?"

Howard smiled. Obviously this man still felt after all these years he didn't deserve kindness.

"Because I can see how exhausted you are… don't deny it." he added at Jane's protesting stare. "and because I know you won't even try to rest if I send you away from this hospital."

Jane smiled sheepishly.

"Go to the bathroom and clean yourself up. I'll have a nurse come and get you once she has been settled in the ICU. I'll be bringing you that sleeping pill myself, and watching you take it."

Jane rolled his eyes, but then nodded.

"Thank you." Jane replied, and the Doctor knew he really meant it. He nodded in acknowledgement.

"I will see you in about half an hour." Howard said standing up and shaking Jane's hand. With one final nod, he left the waiting room, to go and change his scrubs and check on some of his other patients for the night.

**OOOOOoooooOOOOO**

Jane sat in the waiting room, staring at a spot on the wall for over five minutes after Doctor Howard had left. He was trying to delay the inevitable. Once asleep, it would be almost as hard to rouse him, as it would be to wake Lisbon right now. He had gone five nights without any decent sleep. He had only had the small cat naps and the couple of hours he had spent pillowed on Lisbon's lap. He had been running on pure adrenaline trying to find Lisbon, but now he was running on empty. With sheer determination, he knew he could keep himself awake for a little longer, but the Doctor did know how to make a good deal. This was probably the only way he was going to be able to stay with her tonight… but he really didn't want to do it sleeping. How could he protect her if he was completely out to it?

Good thing he's a Mentalist…

He was quickly coming up with a plan… he knew a five year old could probably pull this off… but at the same time it did help being a stubborn git, and being able to control your vitals.

He heaved himself up and made his way to the bathroom, thinking the Doctor had a point when he said he should freshen up. The idea of having cold water splashed on his face right now, sounded so refreshing, he almost wanted to run to the bathroom.

He exited the men's room ten minutes later and made his way back to the waiting room. After about ten minutes of staring into space, a nurse came in and told him he could go up to the ICU now.

He got up and followed the nurse to Lisbon's room.

To say he was shocked by her appearance would have been an understatement. He knew she was going to look bad, but he didn't quite expect all of the machinery.

The first thing that caught his attention was the Dialysis machine. He could see the tubes leading from Lisbon's arm to the machine and back. He watched as her blood did a full circuit before moving his gaze to her face. If it wasn't for the heart monitor emitting the steady beep of her heart, he would have thought she was dead. She had oxygen tubing up her nose and an IV line coming out of the arm not containing the Dialysis lines.

He took a deep breath steadying himself. This was going to be by far her biggest and longest recovery she has ever had to go through. He took a moment to make a silent vow that she wouldn't have to go it alone.

He turned to the nurse.

"Thank you for showing me up here."

The nurse smiled sympathetically. She had heard from Rosie about how he would refuse to sleep until he knew the Agent was going to be ok.

"Doctor Howard will be along shortly. Go ahead and make yourself at home." The nurse said leaving the room. She knew it was only very special cases when friends or family got to stay with patients in the ICU. Usually they only allowed it for children. But they had managed to put Lisbon in an empty room with a spare bed. If, however, another critical patient came along in need of the bed, he would be asked to leave immediately. Doctor Howard had always been good at bending the rules if he had to, and from what the nurse had heard, and also what she could tell, at the rate this man was going, he was going to _become _ a patient soon if they weren't careful.

Jane made his way over to the chair beside Lisbon's bed and sat down heavily, taking her appearance in again. He couldn't help but feel that this was his fault. He had known when he walked into the CBI that day he was going to put her in danger on his quest for vengeance… he just hadn't counted on her meaning so much to him at the time.

"Oh Lisbon…" he whispered sadly, "What have I done?"

He reached out, intending on grabbing her hand, before backtracking. She had so many tubes and wires protruding from her body, he didn't want to hurt her any more than he already had. Deciding on a compromise, he reached out gently and delicately stroked her pinky with his thumb and forefinger.

"I'm so sorry Teresa." He said numbly.

Five minutes later, Doctor Howard entered the room to find Jane sitting beside his patient with his head bent holding onto her small finger, with a grip so soft, he was sure he had probably done this when his child had first been born. He checked a few things on her charts before turning back to Jane.

"Say goodnight Mr Jane. Time for you to go to sleep too."

"Yes Mom." Jane said sarcastically.

Howard could hear the mocking tone in his voice, but he could also see in his eyes, that he really was grateful.

Jane kissed his fingers before placing them gently on her forehead, before getting up and making his way to the bed.

"These should work pretty fast." The Doctor said handing over the medicine cup containing two pills.

Jane looked at the Doctor standing, watching him, with raised eyebrows.

"You're really going to watch me take them?" he asked with a smile.

Doctor Howard only nodded in return.

Jane lifted the cup to his mouth.

"Bottoms up." He murmured, before tipping the pills into his mouth.

"Goodnight Mr Jane." The Doctor said before turning and leaving the room.

Jane waited until the Doctor was out of sight before he slipped the pills out from under his tongue and spat them in his hand. He popped them inside his inside vest pocket and turned for the bed.

Shrugging out of his jacket and vest, and toeing out of his shoes, he hopped on the bed and lay down.

Ten minutes later when the Doctor came back and popped his head around the corner, Jane was lying on the bed, feigning sleep. Jane had allowed his pulse to steady out, should the good Doctor decide to check his vitals. After Jane was sure he had left the room, he opened his eyes and looked back at his sleeping partner.

"I'm right here if you need me Lisbon." He whispered softly. "I'm not going anywhere. I promise."


	17. Chapter 17

**I am SO sorry about my lack of updates. I don't even really have a valid excuse. My muse just decided to take a vacation for a while. I made this chapter longer than the others to (hopefully) try to make it up to all you wonderful people.**

**Thank you for the lovely reviews on the last chapter. You guys are just amazing!**

**Right here's a quick recap on what's been happening seeing as I've been MIA for a few months.**

_Lisbon was kidnapped by Red John, the team found her at Lorelei's sister's old batch hooked up to a feeding tube containing salt water and various other drugs. Jane hasn't slept in five night because he's been trying to find Lisbon, and is now watching over her in the ICU thanks to Dr Howard. Lisbon has had to have one of her kidneys removed due to the Prerenal ARF and the dehydration on top of that._

**Right that's mostly what has happened in the past few chapters, along with Jane and Lisbon being confused about their feelings for each other (as always)**

**Anyway for those who are still willing to tolerate me, here's the next chapter =] x**

A nurse came in to check on Lisbon every half hour or so, so Jane had to be ready to feign sleep at any given moment. Around dawn he could feel the uncomfortable burn to his bladder getting stronger and stronger. Stubbornly, he lay there, not wanting to keep his eyes off of his sleeping partner. He made it another hour before he groaned in defeat. Knowing his luck, if he held off much longer, he would be prone to an infection, especially seeing as his body probably wasn't as strong as it usually would be due to his exhausted state.

Sitting up slowly, he allowed the world to stop spinning before he cautiously placed his feet on the floor and stood up. He bent over slowly and slipped his shoes back on, not worrying about his vest and jacket that were still sitting on the chair beside his bed. Once he made it to the door, he turned back and looked around the room. Everything was silent. Lisbon was sleeping peacefully in her medicated state and her vitals were beginning to steady out a little.

Leaving his heart behind, Jane made his way down the corridor to the men's room. After relieving his aching bladder, he splashed some cold water on his face, before looking at his form in the mirror. He looked as if he had aged a decade in a week. There were lines on his face he had never seen before and his cheeks had taken on a hollow gaunt look to them. The dark circles around his eyes seemed to make his eyes sink into his head. He looked… ragged.

'_Ai' _he thought. '_No more mirrors.'_

He turned away and shook his head, trying to erase the image of the stranger that had been looking back at him.

When he arrived back in Lisbon's room, he stopped dead in his tracks, the hairs on the back of his neck standing up.

There was a bunch of flowers and several balloons sitting next to Lisbon's bed.

He watched in mixed fascination as one of the balloons turned to face him, revealing a smiley face. Desperately he ran to her bed. Everything seemed to be fine. Her vitals were steady and nothing seemed to be out of place. Cautiously he scanned the flowers to find a small card nestled inside. It read

'_Glad to see Patrick deciphered my message in time. You are an important piece of the puzzle my dear Teresa. It would have been a shame if you had have been eliminated from the game so soon. Good luck on your recovery. Your friend. Red John.'_

Jane could feel his hands shaking. He had been here. He could have killed her. He had only left for a few minutes so he must have been waiting for the opportune moment to sneak in.

If Jane hadn't have been so tired, he would have realised it was almost impossible to sneak into a patient's room in the ICU. Because this thought never had the opportunity to enter his mind, he was seeing red.

How could he have been so foolish? Leaving her alone like that. Stupid! He should have waited until a nurse had come before leaving. He was going to have to get an officer stationed at her door… come to think of it, why wasn't there one already there?

He brought his hands up to his face and rubbed his tired eyes. Although he really didn't have the time to sleep, the whole staying awake thing was definitely starting to take a toll on his body. It had been over five days since he had had any real rest. He knew that the longest anyone had ever gone without sleep was ten days, so a few more days wouldn't hurt… right? Just until Lisbon was out of the woods.

He sat on the chair beside Lisbon's bed, taking her pinky between his fingers again.

"Please be ok." He whispered. "You have to be ok."

**OOOOOoooooOOOOO**

Around 8.30 that morning, Dr Howard came into the room, to find Patrick sitting in the chair beside his patient. He knew he hadn't slept. They had been some strong drugs he had given him, so he should still be fast asleep right now. As much as the doctor wanted to scold Jane like a naughty child, he _was_ still an adult. He should be capable of making his own decisions. If he wants to drive himself into the ground… so be it.

"Ah Mr Jane." Howard said coming fully into the room. "I was just coming in to check on you both. Teresa should be waking up soon." he said taking in the dishevelled appearance of the man.

Jane just nodded, only having spared a glance at the doctor when he had entered the room. He had chosen not to alert anyone to Red John's night time appearance. He knew there would be nothing on the security tapes so he didn't see the point in worrying the staff. He would tell the team later and arrange for a door guard to be stationed outside her room.

"I must confess I'm actually here for you at the moment Mr Jane. I had come here to wake you, so you were fully alert for Teresa, but it seems someone must have bet me to it." he said with a knowing glint in his eye. Although he had promised himself he wouldn't lecture the man, this was beginning to get dangerous. The man was heading for a full on collapse, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

Jane didn't even bother to answer the doctor. Howard was smart. He was perceptive. So of course he was going to figure out that he didn't take the pills.

"How long until she wakes?" he asked, completely disregarding Howard's last comment.

"Maybe half an hour."

Howard took a seat on the bed Jane had been using. "There are a few things I think we need to discuss Mr Jane."

Jane didn't like the tone of the doctor's voice. He knew he was in for a 'prepare yourself for the worst' speech.

Again Jane didn't acknowledge that the doctor had spoken. He knew he was being childish, but at the same time he really didn't care. He really didn't have the energy to respect other people's feelings… well no one except for Lisbon's of course.

Howard ignored Jane's lack of response.

"Now we need to talk about the likelihood that Teresa will be suffering from PTSD."

Jane turned to look at the doctor properly for the first time since he had arrived.

"PTSD?"

"Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder."

"I know what it is… I just hadn't thought about the possibility of… her having it."

"It's a stressful time, Mr Jane… for all parties involved."

Jane nodded, not catching onto the doctors second meaning.

"So when she wakes up… she might… freak out?" Jane asked.

"We're not sure she will _freak out_ necessarily. We will keep her medicated for a while, just to help keep her calm. We cannot risk her putting too much stress on her body after such a serious surgery."

Jane nodded seeing the sense in that.

The doctor gave Jane a sad look. They really did look like a married couple. Every day he saw husbands and wives driving themselves into the ground in order to keep an eye on their loved ones, and Patrick really was no exception.

"Mr Jane… as I said when Teresa was first admitted, there might be a possibility that her mental status has been compromised. I do not believe it will be too evasive. We're talking short term memory loss, or temporary speech impairment… but those kind of symptoms can also be related to PTSD."

Jane turned back to Lisbon, continuing his stroking of her pinky. He had seen her disorientated and confused when she had woken from her fever dreams, believing them to be married with children… that had been somewhat traumatic for the both of them, as they came to realise the alternate reality. Things were… changing… and Jane wasn't sure if he liked it or not… let alone if he was ready for this.

"Why didn't you take the pills last night Mr Jane?"

Jane let the corners of his mouth turn up a little.

"You're the one with the medical degree… you tell me." he answered sarcastically.

Doctor Howard stood up from the bed and came to stand beside Jane.

"Because I think you're a man who would do anything to protect the ones he loves."

Jane spluttered, making himself cough. "L-love?"

"Aye, Mr Jane."

"No… I couldn't possibly… be in love with Lisbon… no." he laughed nervously. "No."

Howard smiled slightly to himself.

"Mr Jane, you needed to remember there are different types of love… _I _never said anything about being _in _love with her… that was all you."

Jane let his eyes swivel back to face the man. He looked at him with sad tired eyes.

"Mr Jane I will be back in about half an hour to check on Teresa when she wakes up. I would say get some rest but I know you won't." He smiled at Jane and then left the room.

Jane turned back to Lisbon, still feeling slightly shell shocked. It must just be because he's tired… yeah that's it. He sat there for about twenty minutes trying to convince himself that he hadn't just come to one of the biggest realisations of his life.

Just tired. Nothing else. Nothing to do with the fact that she is his partner, and his best friend. And the only person he can trust with anything. Or the fact that she has big green shiny eyes, that seem to sparkle whenever she looks at him.

Jane let out a growl. It was his own foolishness that got her into this mess in the first place. She would still have functioning healthy kidneys right now if it wasn't for him… heck she would still have two kidneys!

He was brought out of his confusing thoughts by the fluttering of Lisbon's eyelids.

"Lisbon?" he asked sitting forward.

She groaned.

"Teresa, my dear. Time to wake up now." he reached out and softly stroked her face.

She squeezed her eyes shut, moving her head to the side, before finally, albeit slowly opened her eyes.

"Jane?" she croaked before coughing weakly.

"Hey." He said softly.

"I…" she broke off into another weak coughing fit, wincing when she aggravated her stitches.

"Shh." Jane said helping her drink some water. "Just relax."

Lisbon swallowed thickly. Her mouth was parched and felt fuzzy and generally gross.

"What happened?" she asked softly.

"What do you remember?" Jane asked, not wanting to scare her unnecessarily, but also wanting to gauge her memory.

"I… you were at my house… we were watching House… Cortez… he was murdered?"

Jane nodded in reply, feeling relieved that she seemed to be function normally as could be expected. He watched with worried eyes as he saw her begin to remember. Her eyes turned fearful and she looked like she was about to cry, but then she closed her eyes, and when she opened them, a firm, determined mask had been slipped into place.

"Red John."

Jane could only nod helplessly. She turned away from him, staring out the window, not wanting to make eye contact as she told this part of the story.

She knew he would be blaming himself, so she didn't want to see the look in his eye as she told him this… but it needed to be said. He needed to know what had happened as much as she needed to tell it.

"I had gone upstairs to take a shower." She started in a detached voice. "When I came back downstairs, he was in my kitchen… wearing a mask and gloves. He… came out of nowhere… and stuck a needle in my neck. Whatever he gave me… it made me feel really sleepy… like… I was still awake and could still hear and see everything but I had hardly enough energy to keep my eyes open.. let alone fight him off. Anyway he carried me back up the stairs and lay me on the floor beside me bed… I thought in that moment… that I was going to die." She took a deep breath, trying to steady her suddenly wild nerves.

"Lisbon… you don't need to do this now… we can wait a bit… until you've regained some of your strength."

She took another breath and Jane wanted to reach out and take her hand again. He didn't dare touch her though. He wouldn't have been able to live with himself if he were to spook her even more.

"It's ok Jane… I would rather just tell you now… get it out of the way."

Jane flinched at that. So she was just telling him to keep him happy? To allow his need for vengeance to get everything it needed?

"Lisbon…"

"It's ok Jane."

She continued to stare out the window.

"He kept looking at me, but he didn't come towards me. Instead he took out a bottle of… blood… and drew the face on the wall. All the time making me watch… but he didn't cut me… didn't hurt me…" she closed her eyes. "When he was finished he picked me up again and carried me downstairs again, and took me out to a van. He had an accomplice, because he stayed in the back of the van with me while the other one drove. We drove for about ten minutes before he injected me again. This time it knocked me completely unconscious… that's… that's the last thing I remember."

Jane was having a hard time keeping up with his thoughts and feelings. Red John hadn't actually wanted to hurt her… from the sound of Lisbon's story, he had been very careful with her… he could have easily killed her.. and yet he had chosen not to. What was the point in taking her in the first place. If he had interpreted the note properly, then Red John had wanted Lisbon for revenge on Lorelei… but then he hadn't actually wanted to kill her…

He was distracted from his thoughts when Lisbon turned towards him again, wincing as she shifted.

"Jane.. how bad am I?" she asked tentatively.

Jane felt his heart sink. He wasn't sure if he should be the one to tell her this.

"Maybe we should wait for Doctor Howard." He replied.

He was slightly amused to see the annoyed stubborn look to her eye… that's his Lisbon.

"Just tell it to me straight Jane. I know it's not good because I'm in the ICU."

Jane sighed.

"When we found you, you were hooked up to quite a few different things… one of them being a feeding tube that was sending a diluted, but steady stream of salt water into your system… he was intentionally dehydrating you. With the Prerenal ARF…" He leant forward, chancing fate and took her hand. "Lisbon… Teresa.. you were incredibly dehydrated when we found you… and you have a full blown infection… one of your kidneys… it was irreparable. They… they had to remove it."

Lisbon released a puff of air she didn't know she had been holding.

"Lisbon… I… I'm so sorry." He squeezed her hand, only to have her pull it out of his grasp. She knew it would have had to have been his decision that made the call. He is her medical proxy.

"Jane… I think I would like to sleep for a bit."

Jane felt his heart clench painfully. He had only been trying to save her life… had he made the wrong decision? Was he being selfish?

"I'll.. ahh… I'll go find the doctor. I know he wanted to speak with you when you woke up."

He got up and left the room.

Lisbon who had had her eyes closed, didn't see that Jane had had to use the table to stand up, or that he had swayed on the spot for several moments, blinking furiously to try to clear the black spots away. Nor did she hear him whisper under his breath how sorry he was, and how all he wanted was for her to be safe.

**Again I'm so sorry about the delay.**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N really short update, but I'll get the next chapter up tomorrow hopefully =]**

**I love you all. Honestly, when I'm having a bad day and I see a pm or a notification from you lovely people, it just makes me feel better. So thank you =]**

**Here's the next chappie anyway xx**

Lisbon was on the verge of tears by the time doctor Howard had arrived at her room. Mr Jane had told him that he had already informed Teresa of her condition… and that she had practically thrown him out after. It was time the doctor went and tried to reason with her.

"Teresa." Doctor Howard said. Lisbon opened her slightly bloodshot eyes and stared at the doctor. It was the same doctor that had treated her the first time she was here. "How are you feeling?"

"Like someone stole my kidney." She mumbled.

Howard couldn't keep the small smile off his face. She was just as stubborn as Patrick.

He came over and sat on the chair beside her bed. Time for some damage control. He knew Jane probably didn't have a choice in telling her, she was quite high spirited… but he still should have waited until he was in the room too.

"Teresa, by the time we got to you, you had a full blown infection taking place in your kidneys. The Prerenal ARF was beginning to turn into Acute Tubular Necrosis, and the right kidney was damaged beyond repair. We had to remove it to save your life. You will be on dialysis for a good couple of months, and depending on how well your kidney is doing… we might need to look at transplants."

"Transplants?" Lisbon asked with wide eyes. "W-why? I don't understand?"

"Your left kidney is damaged, hence the need for the dialysis. If your left kidney heals sufficiently, you will be able to lead a reasonably normal life. You can survive with one kidney. If, however, the kidney gets worse, we will have to look into you getting a transplant."

Lisbon closed her eyes. She was finally allowing the information to sink in. sitting here in denial wasn't exactly going to help her. When she opened her eyes, doctor Howard was staring at her with understanding eyes.

"So there really was nothing you could have done to save my kidney?" she asked after a slight pause.

Doctor Howard shook his head.

"Teresa, had there have been any chance that we could have saved your kidney, we would have taken it. We waited until absolutely necessary to make the call."

Lisbon looked at her hands.

"I sent Jane away. I shouldn't have done that… do you know where he is?"

"I'm afraid I don't." Howard gestured to the bedside cabinet. "Your effects are being kept in here. Why don't you give him a call." It was more of a instruction then a suggestion.

Lisbon nodded, sitting up slowly and reaching into the drawer beside her bed. She winced when her stitches pulled. It was going to be one heck of a long recovery… even longer than her gunshot wounds.

"I'll be back to check on you later. Get some rest." Howard said before leaving to continue his rounds.

Taking out her cell phone, she lay back into the covers and found Jane's number in the contacts. When his display picture popped up on her screen, she couldn't help but smile.

He had taken a picture of her when she hadn't been looking, and had hacked into her phone and set it as his display. The photo was truly horrible. She had been filling out a report and it had been a really long day. Jane had snuck into her office and taken a picture of her unawares. Her eyes were wide and her mouth open slightly in fright.

She smiled softly to herself.

_Oh Jane… I'm sorry._

Hitting the call button she took a deep breath and waited for him to answer. After a moment, when the call went to voicemail, she cursed and tried again. When he didn't answer for the second time, she threw her phone down on the bed in disgust. Lisbon lay back with a huff.

_Fine then.. ignore me. See if I care!_

**OOOOOoooooOOOOO**

After finding the doctor, Jane had wandered aimlessly around the hospital, feeling dejected. Eventually he came to the conclusion that he should probably leave her alone for a while. Deciding that she wouldn't want to see him at all, he left his vest and jacket in her room, hailed a taxi and made his way to his motel room.

Taking his cell phone out of his pocket, he dialled Grace's number.

"Jane, what can I do for you?"

"Hi Grace. Lisbon woke up before… I think she could use a friend."

"What happened Jane?"

"She's been told of her condition… of the kidney and all… and she kinda got mad at me… so could you maybe go and see if she is ok?"

He listened to the silence at the end of the phone.

"Jane you know you did the right thing… right?"

Jane just mumbled in reply.

"If you hadn't have made the decision… someone else would have. We would have gotten a hold of one of her brothers… they would have done the same thing. Any of us would have."

"I know Grace." Jane replied. "But it was still me that had to make the call, and right now it's me that she's blaming."

"Jane…"

"Can you please just go and make sure she is ok?"

"Of course Jane… have you slept yet?"

"…I'll catch you later Grace." He replied after a moment's hesitation, clicking the end button before she had a chance to reply.

He then dialled Cho's number.

"Cho."

"Cho, I need you to do me a favour… and I need you to be somewhat discreet about it."

"I'm not going to like this am I?"

"Well actually you'll probably agree with my idea for once."

"Spill."

"Red John was in Lisbon's room last night."

"What? How do you know that?"

Jane was almost sure he could hear the worry in Cho's voice. That and anger.

"I came back from the bathroom, 'cos well, you know… I _am _actually human, believe it or not… anyway I came back and there were flowers and smiley face balloons, and a note saying he hopes she recovers quickly etcetera… anyway I want a door guard outside Lisbon's room. Just to be safe."

After a brief pause, Cho answered with an "Ok Jane."

"Thanks Cho." Jane said before hanging up.

He made his way into his kitchen. The familiar routine of making his cup of tea to perfection, calmed his nerves a little, but as soon as he sat down to drink his tea, his mind began to wander.

Lisbon was made at him… for saving her life. He knew he had done the right thing by allowing doctor Howard to remove they kidney, but there was still a seed of doubt growing in the pit of his belly. Maybe they could have done more to save it?

This whole quest for vengeance was what got her into trouble in the first place… maybe it was time to give up… that, or go solo… but that would mean having to choose between Red John and Lisbon… and ultimately, would be like choosing between his wife and daughter or Lisbon… and he wasn't quite ready to make that sort of decision yet… he shouldn't _have _to make that decision yet.

It had been over five nights since he had had any real sleep. He had dedicated his heart and soul into finding Lisbon, and then he had watched over her in the hospital… and this was how she repaid him? He knew she was hurting and the news had come as a real shock to her… but all he had been doing, was trying to help her. It just wasn't fair.

He finished his tea and got up to put his cup in the sink. As soon as his feet hit the ground, he felt the room tilt. Black stars danced in front of his eyes and the walls seemed to be swirling in a warped mess. His tea cup hit the ground before he followed, landing heavily on his side. The last thing he could hear was the faint ring of his phone, coming from his pants pocket.

**Sorry that really was short and that really was a mean cliffy… but it needed to be split here. Let me know what you think anyway =]** x


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N wooh! Check this out for quick posting =]**

**A/N 2 omg ive been trying to post this for hours! stupid fanfiction! owel here you go =]**

"Hi boss."

"Grace!" Lisbon sat up slowly in bed. It was evening now and she hadn't seen anyone since that morning, not including the frequent visits from the nurses. She still hadn't heard from Jane. He had been completely ignoring her calls and she was completely fed up with him. She would show him. When he finally decided to come crawling back, she would be having none of it. She was sick of his spasmodic antics. It made her head spin.

"Sorry it's taken me so long to get here! Things have been… well busy." She gave a soft smile. "How are you feeling?" Grace asked sitting down on the seat next to her bed.

"Sore… bored… but ok really. Doctor Howard is happy with my recovery. He said I'll be in here for a while though."

Grace nodded.

"I spoke with him earlier. He said that things can go wrong very quickly so they'll be keeping you in for observation for a while."

Lisbon sighed.

"I've been awake for a day now and I'm bored stiff. I've been in hospital far too much these last weeks."

Grace smiled sympathetically.

"Can I bring you anything? A book? A puzzle? Your laptop?"

"Oh, my laptop would be great! Then I can watch the rest of House." Lisbon said with a sheepish smile.

Grace laughed softly, but then her face went serious.

"Jane told me what happened."

Lisbon scoffed.

"Jane? ha! I haven't seen Jane since this morning."

"Lisbon, I know you were just angry when you turned him away, but you weren't there when we found you. He was devastated… and then when he found out you had made him your medical proxy, and he had to make the decision… I haven't seen him look so… lost before."

Lisbon looked away guiltily.

"I know that Grace. I felt bad as soon as I shut him out. But I've tried calling him, I've left several messages, but he keeps ignoring me. I can't very well go to his motel room so there's nothing I can do about it. He is such a frustrating man." She sighed.

"I can go and try to reason with him if you want me to?"

Lisbon thought about it for a moment. She would have rather worked things out with him herself, but there was no way she was going to be able to get out of this bed to go and see him.

"Thanks Grace. That would be good." She smiled at her friend.

"Knock knock."

Lisbon gasped softly at the person who had just stuck his head around the corner.

"Mancini?!"

The FBI agent smiled his boyish grin and entered the room.

"I'm not interrupting anything am I?" he asked gesturing at Jane's vest and jacket on the bed.

Lisbon looked at said belongings then shook her head.

"Nope, haven't seen Jane since I first woke up."

"I'll.. ahh leave you to it boss." Grace said rather awkwardly. "I'll come back tomorrow morning with your laptop."

"Thanks Grace." Lisbon said with a genuine smile. "…and thanks for coming to see me too."

"Sure boss." She said as she stood up and left, giving Mancini a suspicious look as she walked past him.

"So how's my favourite CBI boss doing?" Mancini asked as he sat down in the recently vacated seat.

"As good as can be expected I guess." She said self consciously trying to tame her hair a little.

"Teresa, you don't need to worry about how you look in front of me." he said smoothly. "You'll always be gorgeous in my eyes."

Lisbon coughed a little. _Well that was unexpected._

"Mancini? Have you been drinking?" she asked a little suspiciously.

He laughed in reply.

"What? So I'm not allowed to compliment you now?"

"I just… you've never talked to me like that before… so either you've been drinking… or you just feel sorry for me 'cos they stole one of my organs."

His face turned serious then.

"That wasn't a pity comment Teresa. I just don't want you to feel uncomfortable around me."

She laughed then.

"What because I haven't had a shower in days and I'm up to my neck in IV lines and machines."

He just continued to look at her seriously.

"Teresa when I heard what had happened I got here as soon as I could. I've been out of state on a case, so I missed the news. I found out about the kidney yesterday. I'm sorry."

Lisbon sighed.

"I don't know what I'm going to do Gabe. Am I still going to be able to do my job without one of my organs?" she looked at him with sad eyes.

"Lisbon… I do my job everyday without one of my organs. I lost my spleen in a car accident years ago… I get sick more often that the average man… but I've learnt to adapt."

Lisbon felt her guard being let down by the second.

"I had no idea."

"Oh and I don't have an appendix anymore either… big life changing surgery that one was." He smiled at her. "Teresa it's going to be a big deal… but you will learn how to cope. I've never met a woman who's more determined to get what she wants than you… and I don't think this is any exception." He said reaching out and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Thank you Gabe." She said with true sincerity.

"Anytime." He said with a soft smile. "So… why has Jane gone AWOL this time, and does he need a punch in the face?" he asked leaning casually back in the chair.

Lisbon snorted slightly.

"Well we kind of had a fight… and now he's ignoring me."

Mancini raised an eyebrow.

"Remind me… who is the woman in this friendship?"

Lisbon snickered at that, but sobered up almost instantly.

"It was his call."

"I don't understand?" Mancini asked, looking slightly confused.

"The first time I was in hospital, Jane was so good to me… so I made him my medical proxy. My brothers are out of state and he seems to always be there when I'm in a tight spot…" she paused then as she realised that this was probably the first time that Jane hadn't been there for her in nearly ten years. It made her sad, and more than a little angry. "…anyway he had to give permission for the doctors to remove my kidney. I understand now that they couldn't have done anything… but I kinda shut down on him… I didn't exactly say anything… but I know I've upset him. Anyway now he won't return my calls."

If Lisbon hadn't have looked so frustrated and upset in that moment, Mancini would have laughed.

"He just needs to grow up Teresa. Yes it was a hard decision to make, but he should have known you were going to be upset about it."

Lisbon nodded.

"I guess so." She huffed. "It just makes me so mad!" she threw her head back on the pillow in frustration, only to groan in pain when the movement sent a white hot jolt of pain through her body. Gasping for air, she could only vaguely feel Mancini's hand on her shoulder.

"Easy Teresa. Shh just breathe." He smoothed her hair off her forehead. "I'll go get a nurse. Just keep breathing."

Lisbon couldn't reply for fear of making it worse. Her pain level was rapidly rising, and she was using all her energy just not to scream.

The nurse came in moments later.

"Here you go sweetie, this will make you feel better."

Lisbon felt her mind start to go all… floaty was the only way she could describe it… as the morphine entered her body. After only a few moments the pain began to reduce, and her eyelids began to feel heavy.

She looked at Mancini with tired eyes.

"Sleep Teresa." He said softly, sitting back in the chair beside her bed.

She complied without a comment, allowing her body to drift off into much needed sleep.

**OOOOOoooooOOOOO**

Grace left the hospital and drove straight to Jane's motel room. Something didn't feel right. She hadn't heard from him herself since he had called her that morning, and if he was ignoring Lisbon's calls, something definitely had to be going on.

She parked her car and climbed the steps to his room. She reached his door and knocked. No response.

"Jane! Its Grace! Open up!" she called knocking again.

Again, no response. Sighing, she moved to the window. At first glance nothing looked out of the ordinary, but after looking a little longer, she could see one brown shoe on the floor behind the couch. That would have been fine if the shoe wasn't attached to a foot… and the foot wasn't attached to a leg…

"Oh my god! Jane!" Grace ran back to the door, only to find it locked. Taking a deep breath she stepped back and kicked the door. On the second kick the lock broke and the door flew open.

Graced rushed inside, kneeling beside the unconscious man.

"Jane!"

He groaned in response but didn't open his eyes. Grace placed two fingers on his neck, to find his pulse rapid.

"Hang on Jane." Grace said pulling out her cell phone and calling 911.

After the call had been disconnected, she turned Jane into the recovery position and place a pillow under his head.

Exposing her wrist watch, she put her fingers back on his neck and took his pulse properly.

"One six seven" she murmured once the minute was up. She placed a hand on his forehead. "No fever… oh Jane, what have you done to yourself?" she said softly.

About ten minutes later, the paramedics arrived.

"What happened?" one asked, kneeling beside the unconscious man.

"I came here to check on him… he hasn't been answering anyone's calls… and I found him like this. I can't figure out what's wrong with him." Grace replied feeling helpless.

The paramedic took pity on her.

"It's ok, you've done well, he's in good hands now." she said smiling at her.

Grace nodded and followed them out, helping them carry Jane down the stairs.

Jane was still unconscious as they loaded him into the back of the ambulance.

"I'll follow you in my car to the hospital." Grace said. "Thank you."

The whole way to the hospital, Grace couldn't help but worry that she had been too late. She knew Jane had to have been upset… and she had seen the empty tea cup… she couldn't help but worry that he had done something stupid.

_What if he had_… she shook her head. _No he couldn't have… but what if he had? _Grace blink furiously at the idea that Jane might have taken belladonna again. She followed the ambulance to the hospital and was relieved when they stayed at the speed limit and the lights and sirens hadn't been needed.

Inside she was ushered to a waiting room, and Jane was wheeled behind the double doors.

**OOOOOoooooOOOOO**

It was only half an hour later that a doctor came to see her. She wasn't even surprised when doctor Howard entered the room.

"Agent Van Pelt." He said holding out a hand. "What are we going to do with your team?"

Grace shook her head.

"Is he ok?"

"He's just fine. We have him sedated for now."

Grace looked at the doctor with worried eyes.

"He's suffering from exhaustion. While that may not sound very serious, under these circumstances it is. Mr Jane has not slept in nearly a week. Did you know that?"

Grace nodded.

"Yes… well no… I knew he hadn't slept but I didn't realise it had been that bad." She replied.

"I've been keeping an eye on him while he's been here with Teresa, and some of the nursing staff have been telling tales on him also."

Grace only nodded in reply.

"His body has been on the verge of a collapse for some time now."

"He fainted at a crime scene a few days ago too…" Grace admitted. "When he found Lisbon missing…"

The doctor didn't even look surprised at that.

"We're going to keep him here for a couple of days. His heart rate is extremely high, as is his blood pressure, but we're hoping with time and rest he will be just fine."

Grace sighed in relief.

"As I said, we have him sedated. He will need a decent bout of sleep and a few decent meals and he will be back to his usual self." The doctor smiled at her. "As for you Agent, I think it's about time you went home yourself. Get a decent night's sleep. Come back tomorrow."

"Ok." She said standing up. "Thank you doctor."

Howard only smiled.

"Good night agent."

"Good night doctor."

Howard watched as Grace left the room and shook his head.

_Ai. _He thought. _What was he going to do with this team?_

**Yaay no evil cliffhanger this time =]**

**Please leave me a review and let me know what you think =] x**


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N Hello… sorry about the wait… AGAIN but unfortunately real life got in the way. Damn it lol. But thank you so much to everyone that reviewed. I cherish every single one of them.**

**I must say the response I got towards Mancini really did make me laugh. It was exactly what I was going for, so I was stoked =]**

**This chapter feels extremely rushed and hasn't been edited so I apologize for the poor quality but I felt terrible about not having posted in so long. It is also one in the morning and my eyes are almost needing pegs to keep them open lol, so hopefully it makes some kind of sense.**

**Love you all x**

Indeed, what _was_ he going to do with this team? Around midnight Lisbon's temp spiked to 103, indicating her infection wasn't responding to the antibiotics she was on.

Howard was beginning to get worried. She was deteriorating rapidly. At the rate she was going, she was going to lose her other kidney. He had put her on broad spectrum antibiotics, in the hopes he could combat the infection before it came to that. But, being a doctor, he was a realist. He knew there was a high chance he was going to have to remove the kidney tonight. She could survive purely on dialysis for a small while, but if he didn't find her a donor quickly… she was going to die.

Retiring to his office, he sat down to scan the donor list for any potential matches. He had been at the hospital for nearly thirty hours now. He had been about to leave when a nurse notified him of Teresa's condition.

His wife was going to kill him.

Sighing he ran a hand over his face. Technically his shift was over, he could go home if he wanted, but he couldn't bring himself to leave in case Teresa took a further turn for the worst.

Mr Jane was due to wake soon. He had gotten a good sixteen hours of uninterrupted sleep and would be feeling a lot better when he decided to wake.

Howard was both looking forward to this, and yet at the same time he was completely dreading it. He wasn't looking forward to having to fill in Mr Jane on Teresa's condition.

He bit back a yawn and returned his eyes to the screen. There were a few potential donors, at around a 3/6 success. They could work, but Howard would have been happier with a 4/6 considering she had already lost one kidney. If the transplant was to reject, he wasn't sure Teresa's system could handle it. She very easily could go into multi-organ-failure.

He sighed again. it was going to be one hell of a night. She was dosed up on painkillers, but he was refraining from sedating her, she was drifting in and out of consciousness as it was.

Howard leant back in his chair and closed his eyes. He had missed tucking his wee girl in again tonight. He loves his job, it is both satisfying and rewarding, but he still can't get over the guilt of having to put his patients first. When he had become a parent for the first time, he had held his daughter in his arms and sworn he would always be there to protect her. But he had also taken an oath as a doctor to save lives and never do intentional harm, and right now, leaving Teresa, would almost be like causing her physical pain. He had been on her case from the beginning and right now he couldn't stand the thought of handing her case over to another doctor. Her case is a delicate one, and someone also had to be around to inform Mr Jane of her condition.

Right on cue, Howard's pager went off informing him that Patrick had woken up. He sighed again. He really wasn't looking forward to having to fill him in.

Stretching slightly, he got up and made his way to the general ward.

Mr Jane was sitting up in his bed, hooked up to an IV and a heart monitor. He looked small and fragile against the stark white of the hospital sheets. He still looked exhausted, but that deathly pallor had disappeared somewhat from his skin.

"What am I going to do with you Patrick?" Howard said in greeting.

Jane just huffed in reply and followed the doctor with his eyes.

Howard picked up his chart and scanned it quickly.

A nurse had been in every hour to check on his heart rate and blood pressure. The problem with patients suffering from exhaustion, is they could stress themselves into having heart problems.

"How are you feeling?" the doctor asked.

Jane rolled his eyes.

"Oh, brilliant." He bit back sarcastically.

Howard merely raised an eye brow at that.

"Well what do you expect?" Jane asked. He was uncomfortable, angry and more than a little embarrassed. He needed someone to vent to, and it seemed the only ears available right now were the nurses and his doctor… _since when did he become HIS doctor?_

Howard took a seat beside Jane's bed. Technically he was off duty so he was able to disregard the formalities. He nodded his head once and Jane took that as a green light.

"Lisbon hates me, I'm stuck in a bloody hospital bed because I was a little _tired, _and my door got busted down by a female agent because I collapsed on my living room floor. It's pathetic really. All of it." he smacked his head back into his pillow in frustration.

"Mr Jane, to start off with, you have no need to be embarrassed about you having your door kicked down. You're lucky Agent Van Pelt found you when she did."

Jane only looked vaguely interested at that.

"…and she is a damn good agent if I hear correctly. You're doing yourself no favours for resenting her because she is a female." Howard didn't even let Jane respond to that. "Second, you're not in here just because you're a little _tired_, you're suffering from exhaustion. Basically your body couldn't handle the amount of stress you were putting on it but forcing yourself to stay away. You have a high heart rate and your BP was through the roof when you were first admitted. We were a little worried about your heart to begin with, but your vitals seem to be coming back down to normal as you sleep."

Jane nodded at that.

_Good. _Howard thought. _At least that was a little more of a response. _

"Third, Teresa doesn't hate you. She might be angry at you, maybe a little frustrated… but she doesn't hate you."

Howard saw Jane's eyes soften ever so slightly at that.

"How has she been today?" Jane asked quietly.

Howard shifted in his seat uncomfortably. He was dreading this part. It was like delivering any bad news, the messenger always got shot. He decided to start off with the rest of her day first. Maybe Jane knowing she had had a couple of visitors would soften the blow a little. Doubtful.

"Agent Van Pelt came to see her this morning."

Jane nodded at that.

"I called her and asked her to come and keep Lisbon company. I didn't want her to be alone after finding out news like that."

Howard hid a smile. Were these two really that blind? Couldn't they see how hard they had fallen for each other. It was almost a joke that they couldn't admit it to each other… or even themselves.

"She also had another agent come and see her… I can't remember his name. A tall male? Brown hair?"

"Rigsby?"

Howard shook his head.

"No it wasn't Agent Rigsby. From my understanding he wasn't from your team. He's in the FBI."

Jane looked at Howard with an evil squint to his eye.

"Mancini."

"Yeah that was it. Mancini." Howard replied, completely oblivious to Jane's general dislike of the guy. "He arrived sometime after Grace left. Sat with her for a few hours."

While Howard didn't notice Jane's anger towards the mentioning of the other man, he noticed when his eyes turned downcast and looked defeated.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Jane replied sombrely. "How is she now?" Jane continued quickly.

Howard winced. He almost wished he had lead with this part of the conversation now. At least it would be over and done with if he had. He internally smacked himself. He was being childish. He has had to deliver worse news than this before.

So why was it so hard?

"Teresa's condition has deteriorated."

Jane blinked as if he hadn't heard him properly.

"I'm sorry what?"

_Maybe he hadn't? or maybe he was just disbelieving to the fact that he hadn't already been told. John Howard you fool._

"Her temperature spiked around midnight and he white count is higher than it was this morning. We think her other kidney is failing. We have her on broad spectrum antibiotics to try to combat the bacteria, but we're preparing ourselves to the possibility of having to remove her other kidney."

Jane stared at him dumbfounded.

"She can survive purely on dialysis for a short time, but we really need to find her a transplant."

Jane blinked. Howard could see him calculating something in his head. He only hoped it had nothing to do with what hand and what technique he could use to dislocate his jaw.

"Take one of mine." Jane said suddenly. "Give her one of my kidneys."

To say he was shocked would have been an understatement. Howard had thought of a few possibilities to how he would react, but never did he think that this would be one of them. Or maybe he had… he just didn't want to entertain the idea."

"Patrick…"

"No. We're the same blood type… if it can save her then I'm willing to do this. The risks be damned."

The doctor just stared at him.

"Can it be done." It wasn't really a question. More of a demand.

"You know the risks of living with only one kidney?"

"I told you. I don't care about the risks. If it can save her life I don't care. Can it be done?"

Howard hesitated, weighing his options. _Was the outcome worth the risk?_

"Technically yes. The anti-rejection drugs we have these days are showing more and more positive outcomes. But it will be risky. Especially if your blood pressure is still this high. It will almost need to be a last minute decision. I have to allow you to heal too Patrick. Like it or not, but your now my patient too, and you're under my care."

Jane nodded at that.

"I'll do whatever you tell me to doc. I need her to be ok." He whispered.

Howard nodded, getting to his feet.

"We'll see how she reacts to the antibiotics, but I'll get a nurse to run some tests to see how much of a match you are against her. I'm not happy about this, but if it's the only choice we have… ultimately the decision lies with you."

Jane nodded slowly in reply.

"Get some rest Mr Jane. I'll keep you updated." Howard said. He patted Jane on the shoulder and left the room.

**Incredibly short I know but I really need to go to bed. Please review! **


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N so the bad news is I managed to faint at work this morning and smack my head on some random things, which resulted in me having to be driven home by my boss.. talk about embarrassing lol. The good news is I got bored so I wrote another chapter lol.**

**Thank you so much for the reviews on the last chapter! I love you all!**

**this chapter didn't turn out the way I had originally planned but I'm hoping this gets a better response. **

**Enjoy =] x **

Grace hadn't heard anything from the hospital when she woke up this morning, so she took that as a good sign that both of her friends were healthy and most probably sleeping. She made it to the office first to go over Rigsby's report from yesterday. He had gone over to talk to Mrs Cortez again.

Something hadn't been sitting right with Grace since she had found the picture of Lucio Cortez with Todd Johnson. When it came down to Red John, coincidences like this just don't happen.

She had convinced the boys that there was more going on than meets the eye. She was sure that Lucio had something to do with Red John.

Red John is a complicated being. He has a reason for every kill he has ever committed. A lot of the time the killings appear to be spasmodic, but there always seemed to be a pattern underlying in there somewhere. Most of the time he was out to get revenge, or he is just wanting to toy with Jane.

There were two reasons Red John had killed Lucio.

There was the obvious reason that he wanted to 'help' Jane get revenge because Lucio had hurt Lisbon. Personally, Grace wasn't entirely convince that that was the only reason Cortez had shown up with a smiley face above his body.

She figured that Lucio must have been in leagues with Red John, and Red John being the paranoid git that he is, decided to end Cortez before he could say anything that would give him away.

So Rigsby had gone back to Old Mrs Cortez to see if he could find anything out. Mrs Cortez was currently under supervision, being held in contempt for meddling with the murder in the first place. They weren't charging her too hard as they knew a parent would do anything for their kid and she was frightened and confused. So until everything got cleared up, she had a 24/7 babysitter.

Grace sat down at her desk, taking a sip of her coffee to try to clear the cobwebs that had filled her head over the last few days. She opened the report and scanned through it.

Nothing too interesting. Rigsby just asked some standard questions, incorporated into more specific Red John questions.

He had asked about his childhood, what sort of boy he was, what his interests were.

They had lived on a farm, so Lucio had always been very active. He had loved animals and had always had a love for food – hence the reason he opened the restaurant. He had been quite a shy child, hadn't had many friends. They had moved to California when he was twelve after his father had died. He had missed the farm land a lot, so he liked to help out on the local farms on weekends.

_That's probably where he met Todd Johnson. _Grace thought to herself.

He hadn't been incredibly bright at school, and had left early to do a building apprenticeship.

Grace stopped reading there.

That was it. In a nutshell it was almost proof he had had affiliations with Red John.

Stupid really. Thousands of young men over the country would have done a building apprenticeship, but this as well as the photo of Todd Johnson… it just seemed to fit.

She sat back in her chair, exhaling slowly. She was almost sure there was far more to this that meets the eye.

Mrs Cortez was extremely protective of her son. More than most. To Grace it almost seemed to be slightly obsessive. When they had first moved to California, she couldn't find a job anywhere, so she became a cleaning lady. Cleaning motels mostly, and doing the odd jobs for clinics, schools and hospitals. She had been trying her best to make a half way decent life for her son. There was nothing she wouldn't have done for her son.

She had lied about the murder and then tried to cover up for it after. She had denied knowing who Todd Johnson was when Rigsby had shown her the picture. And she had told them she hadn't even known who Red John was, only that she had found out about him when he had killed her son.

That part had Van Pelt the most confused. Everyone knew who Red John was. He's the most well known serial killer in California. Even as a foreigner she would have heard about it. Jane's family alone was all over the news.

There was definitely something going on here…

Her phone started ringing, breaking her trail of thought.

"Van Pelt." She answered.

"Grace." It was Rigsby.

"Hey, Rigsby. What's up?"

"Mrs Cortez has disappeared."

"What?" Grace asked, getting up and grabbing her jacket. There was no way she was going to let this woman get out of her grasp. Not after the discovery she had just made.

"The agent who was looking after her today went to check on her this morning and she wasn't in her room. He searched her apartment and she was nowhere to be found."

"Of course she's gone missing now." Grace grumbled as she stepped onto the elevator.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Rigsby asked.

"I think I might have found something in your report yesterday."

"Oh?"

"He was into construction and farms. Jane said to keep an eye out for building apprenticeships. And the photo of him and Todd, Mrs Cortez denied ever seeing that picture, but a woman that obsessed with her son's life would have known who his friends were."

"You know you could be right." Rigsby answered on the other end of the phone.

"Where are you? I'm just leaving CBI now."

"At Mrs Cortez' apartment."

"When was the last time the agent saw her?" Grace asked.

"He said she was there when he checked half an hour ago."

"Good. She can't have gotten too far then."

Grace pulled onto the main highway.

"How are you Grace?" Rigsby asked, his voice going quieter and Grace knew he would have stepped away from the other agents for privacy. The thought made her smile softly.

"I'm ok. Tired. Worried. I just want this whole mess to be over." She heard him sigh on the other end of the phone. "You alright?"

There was silence on the end of the phone for a couple of moments before he finally replied.

"Not really."

Grace felt her hart sink. "Wayne…"

"Two out of five members of our team are in hospital at the moment. One in a critical condition, and the other suffering from exhaustion because he's too stubborn to ask for help. I just… I don't know what to do."

Grace stopped at a red light and sat back in her chair sadly.

"It will be ok Wayne. It always works out in the end."

"Yeah… I know. I just… it's hard."

"I'm going to see Jane and boss later." Grace said on a sudden whim. "Maybe you should come with."

"I-I don't know Grace. I wouldn't want to intrude… you know… get in the way."

Grace couldn't help but smile at that. His personality is kind of ironic. Big guy that chases after criminals and smacks people's heads on tables while under the influence of hypnotherapy… but then he is so gentle. And insecure. He cares far too much about what people think of him.

"Wayne, I'm sure they would both love to see you. Jane might not be so chipper, but he's probably going to be in a mood anyway."

"Ok… it sounds like a plan."

Grace smiled at that.

"Grace… I was wondering…"

"Hold up Rigsby…" Grace said squinting at the white van beside her. "I think I may have found Mrs Cortez. I'll call you back." She said switching her phone off.

The light turned green and she quickly changed lanes so she was following the van. They drove about a mile up the road before the van turned into an old house. Grace parked behind a fence in the hopes of staying hidden, and watched as the Mexican lady hopped out of the van, with more agility then a woman her age should have, and walk to the back of the van. She took a black rubbish bag out of garage and started filling it with contents from the back seat.

Curiosity getting the better of her, Grace got out of her SUV, drawing her gun, and making her way slowly up the drive.

"CBI, don't move!" she shouted.

The old lady looked at her like a deer in the headlights, before dropping the black bag and raising her hands.

"What have you got there Mrs Cortez?" Grace asked moving slowly towards the bag. The old lady looked like she was about to run. "Don't move." Grace said.

Mrs Cortez' eyes darted to Grace's gun.

"I'm putting it away, see? Just please don't move."

Grace saw the relief in her eyes as the gun was put back in its holster.

"What have you got in the bag there?" Grace asked again, taking another couple of steps towards her.

The old lady just continued to star at Grace vaguely.

"Come on, I know you speak English."

"I speak English." The lady replied. "I just don't have anything to say to you." Grace watched as Mrs Cortez straightened up out of her hunched position, and her eyes lost the fear that had clouded it seconds ago. Her voice held no trace of the accent that had been there days before.

"Seriously." Grace muttered under her breath.

"Well and truly." She said leaning casually against the door of the van. The back door was open, but Grace couldn't see inside. She side-stepped casually, and couldn't help but gasp slightly when she say inside the backseat.

There was medical equipment, needles, syringes, bandages-some of them bloody, and an assortment of vials, all littered over the floor of the van. There was one spot cleared on the floor, a spot big enough for a body to be lain.

Lisbon.

"It was you." Grace said horrified. "You were the accomplice… the driver."

The lady merely shrugged.

"You helped _him _kidnap Lisbon."

Mrs Cortez nodded again.

"But he had killed your son." Van Pelt whispered. "How could you help someone after they kill your own kid?"

"Red John didn't kill Lucio." She spat. "Patrick did!"

Grace shot the lady a confused stare.

"It was him who broke into Lucio's cell and slaughtered him. Red John tried to stop him, but he came too late."

Grace almost laughed at that.

"That's what he told you?" the lady nodded. "And you believed him?" Grace shook her head. "If you believe that you're more daft then I thought you were. Jane was nowhere near Lucio when and after he was arrested. He was at the hospital with Lisbon, and then later at her apartment. He was nowhere near your son on the night he was murdered. Red john doesn't care about you, or your son. The only thing he's interested in, is Patrick, and the game he's playing with him. Nothing else matters."

Mrs Cortez was shaking her head vigorously.

"No. He wouldn't. Red John loves us."

"No he doesn't, he just wants you to think that. He wanted you to believe that by helping him kidnap Lisbon, you would be getting some kind of revenge on your son's death, but really he was just playing another game. There was no other reason."

Grace took another step towards her.

"Stay back!" she screeched, pulling a gun shakily out of her pocket.

Grace stopped moving, putting her hand on her holster.

"Don't even think about it. I will shoot!"

"You don't need to do that Mrs Cortez." Grace said calmly but sternly. "You can come quietly. We can cut you a deal."

The old lady laughed.

"What? I give you privileged information about Red John and I get less time in prison?" she shook her head. "Nah ah." She cocked the gun with a small click.

"You know killing a cop will get you longer." Grace said before she could stop herself.

"Ah but no one's going to know I was here. I can make this look like suicide if I wanted to."

Grace looked over the lady's shoulder.

"Oh yeah? Well there's just one problem with that."

Mrs Cortez smirked.

"Oh yeah? And what's that?"

"My partner's standing right behind you."

The handle of Rigsby's gun came down hard on the old lady's head and she crumpled to the ground.

Grace released a puff of breath.

"You ok?" Rigsby asked.

"Yeah. How'd you find me?" Grace asked, coming to stand over the currently unconscious lady.

"The tracker in your car."

"Right." Grace said. Security had installed tracking devices into all of the CBI vehicles last month, when an agent had gone missing, and they had found him gassed out in his car days later.

"What are you doing here?" Grace asked turning to look at him. He was pale and looked exhausted. She couldn't help but feel a little guilty. She had been so preoccupied with Jane and Lisbon, she hadn't been paying much attention to the other two members of the team. She would have bet anything that Cho wouldn't have looked much better.

"I… you turned off your phone… I was worried."

Grace smiled softly at that.

"Thanks Wayne."

He nodded.

"Any time."

"We should probably get her into custody." He said, bending down to lift the now semi conscious old lady to her feet.

Grace looked at him, suddenly remember everything she had just been told.

"How much of that did you hear?"

Rigsby shrugged, and started making his way to his car, they would come back for hers later.

"Not a lot. I came out as soon as I saw she had you under gunpoint."

"She's in leagues with Red John. She helped kidnap Lisbon."

She almost laughed as Rigsby's face turned up in disgust at the woman he was currently dragging along the sidewalk.

"I showed up and she was trying to clean the evidence off the van."

"We need to call this in. Any idea who's property this is?" he asked, hauling Mrs Cortez into the backseat of the SUV.

"None. But it's part of a crime scene now. We need forensics to check through that van. There's bloodied bandages and all sorts in there, and I don't believe it's Lisbon's blood. There weren't any cuts on her when we found her." Wayne nodded and reached into his pocket to call it in.

"Wayne, I'm really sorry to put this on you, but can I leave this with you? I need to go to the hospital. I need to fill Jane in."

Rigsby nodded.

"Y-yeah. Whatever you need." He smiled. "No problem."

"Thanks." she smiled. "I'll catch you later." she said before running off towards her own car.

She felt more than a little bad as she pulled back onto the road. She was meant to take Wayne with her to the hospital, but she felt she really needed to fill Jane in as fast as possible. He would know what to do.

She arrived at the hospital within ten minutes. She went up to the main desk and smiled at the nurse behind the counter.

"I'm looking for Patrick Jane?" Grace said. "He was brought in here yesterday."

While the nurse was looking up Jane's name, Grace could only hope that he had actually woken up by now.

"Are you Agent Van Pelt?" the nurse asked.

"Ah, yes?" Grace asked somewhat confused.

"Follow me." the nurse said getting up from behind the desk.

Now starting to get a little worried, Grace followed the nurse to a waiting room. She sat down beside her.

"What's going on?"

"Doctor Howard told me that you should be told in person, should you come in. He's been trying to get a hold of you all morning."

Grace pulled her phone out of her pocket.

"My phone's been off." She said somewhat numbly. She looked up at the nurse with wide, frightened eyes. "What's happened?"

The nurse took a deep breath.

"Teresa's temperature spiked last night. The infection in her kidney caused it to start shutting down. Both Mr Jane and Teresa are currently in surgery."

"Both?" Van Pelt asked in a small voice.

"Mr Jane is donating one of his kidneys to save her."

Grace sat back in her chair in a daze. How was she meant to deal with this? It was all too much…

"Here." The nurse said handing her a cup of water, that she hadn't even noticed her fill.

"I'll be back to update you in a little while. Maybe you should call someone to come and sit with you."

Grace just nodded in reply, taking a small sip of water. Well she hadn't been expecting that… and she couldn't help but feel extremely guilty that her phone had been off the whole time.

**Well I had no idea where to end this. Lol so hopefully this is as good a place as any. Please review =] let me know what you think.**


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N Peeks out from under table… ok, ok I know I'm hopeless. But unfortunately I have taken to reading fanfiction instead of writing it lately. That and marathoning supernatural in my spare time leaves little time for me to get writing. Owel, I finally got another chapter done anyway. **

**Its kinda short and there's no Jane or Lisbon (conscious) in this chapter but I hope you like it anyway. I must say I felt like I was more writing something for grey's anatomy then the mentalist but I had fun.**

**Isn't this season awesome? I'm loving it so far! Glad we are finally moving along in the plot! Tyger tyger people!**

**Anyway enough rambling… =D**

Rigsby arrived a couple of hours later, nursing two cups of coffee. Wordlessly he handed one to Grace, then sat down in the chair beside her. Grace had called Rigsby as soon as the nurse had given her the news of both their friends being in surgery.

"I got here as fast as I could." He said not quite able to look her in the eye for some reason.

"I know Wayne." She replied in a small voice.

They sat there in awkward silence for a few minutes before Rigsby cleared his throat.

"So we got Mrs Cortez booked."

"Oh yeah?" Grace replied looking at him for the first time since he entered the room.

"Yeah. We can charge her on tampering with evidence, as well as holding up a police officer with an armed weapon – that she doesn't have a permit for I might add. Cho is questioning her now." Rigsby looked down at the Styrofoam cup in his hands. "He said he'll get here as soon as he can… said that you would benefit having me here more than you would if he was…" he was rambling and he knew it, but the silence was killing him and he just didn't know what to do.

"Have you heard anything yet?" he asked in another attempt to get her to talk to him.

Grace sighed. She knew what he was doing. He was trying to distract her from the fact that this was a risky surgery for both patients, and they could very well loose both of them. She could also tell how worried he was.. if the constant rambling had anything to do with it.

"A nurse came in earlier, said both patients were fully prepped for the transplant and they had just removed Lisbon's left kidney. They said they were preparing to open Jane up and another team was readying Lisbon for the donor kidney." Grace directed her gaze to the floor. "That was over an hour ago though."

Rigsby nodded, shifting slightly in his seat, before he finally took a deep breath and reached out and grabbed Grace's hand.

"They'll be ok Grace." Rigsby murmured. "They always pull through. This won't beat them. They'll be ok… they have to be." In the end Rigsby wasn't entirely sure if he was trying to comfort Grace or himself.

**OOOOOoooooOOOOO**

"Now that's what I like to see." Doctor Howard said, indicating at Lisbon's new kidney. "Nice and pink."

All in all it had been a rather successful operation for both patients. Another team was currently closing Patrick, and Teresa's system seemed to be taking to the kidney. It would be a couple of days before they could measure how well the kidney was actually functioning, but if the blood flow was any indication, so far he couldn't be happier.

"Closing her up now." he said to his team. "Sutures."

He had barely made one stitch before a nurse came flying through the door.

"Doctor Howard! He's crashing!"

Howard spun around to face the nurse who was leaning against the door of the adjoining Operating Rooms.

"What?" he said a little more forcefully than necessary.

The nurse wasn't fazed though.

"His BP went through the roof, we're having trouble controlling the bleeding. He's tanking."

"Dammit!" he swore under his breath. "Jared!" he ordered addressing his resident. "You think you can handle closing her up?"

The young man nodded eagerly.

"Yes sir!" he said taking control of the sutures.

Howard shed his surgical overcoat and gloves and raced through to the next OR. A new coat and gloves were thrown on him upon entry.

"We can't find where he's bleeding from." The surgeon said. She was almost elbow deep in Jane, trying to control the source. She looked at him with desperate eyes and he remembered she was still very young and had lost one too many patients lately. She had originally specialised in oncology, and while that had been rewarding, she had trouble handling the deaths. Howard remembered because he was the one that found her in a storage cupboard crying. She moved to general soon after that.

The surgical teams movements were erratic and frantic. There was no flow. They were all yelling at each other. If he didn't calm things down they were going to lose this man.

Walking up to the operating table he put his hands in the air.

"Ok everyone just stop!" he yelled in the most authoritive voice he could muster.

The team all stopped what they were doing and stared at the doctor.

"Hands."

The young girl took her hands out of the patient and Howard replaced them with his own.

He prodded around for a couple of moments, taking a second the admire the clean removal of the kidney, when he found it.

"Put your hand in here. Feel it?" he asked indicating where the bleed was. One of the arteries hadn't been sectioned off properly. Usually it wouldn't have mattered as much but that as well as the patients high BP and heart rate, he was bound to bleed more.

He nodded at the young girl and removed his hands. She looked a little shaky at first before taking control again, and fixing the bleed.

"Get a transfusion into him." Howard said to one of the nurses before turning back to his patient.

Howard stayed until he knew the bleed had been fixed and she had started to close, before he made his way back to his other patient.

Jared had closed her up cleanly and without a hitch, and they were beginning to prepare her for her trip to recovery.

"Good job, son." He said patting the younger man on the back. He looked over at the nurse. "Get her on warm fluids and up the dosage of her antibiotic. Keep her sedated for now. I want her body's only task to be fighting off this infection." The nurse nodded and they began to wheel her out of the room.

Howard sighed and went to scrub out. The adjoining door opened minutes later and the young doctor walked through.

"We're all closed up in there." She said with a quiet voice.

Howard nodded in approval.

"You did good in there Sally."

She hung her head.

"I just about killed him." she whispered.

"No. You saved his life. Don't forget that."

"I couldn't find the bleed though."

"Sally." He said turning the tap off and grabbing a hand towel. "When you have been doing this job as long as I have, you will be able to find bleeds a lot easier too." He smiled kindly at her. "But until then, it is ok to ask for help."

She nodded slowly.

"Thanks Doctor Howard."

He finished the conversation with a single nod and then walked off to inform Teresa and Patrick's friends on their conditions.

**OOOOOoooooOOOOO**

The next few hours crawled along slowly for the two agents. Finally, around 1am, Doctor Howard came in clad in surgical scrubs.

"How are they?" Grace asked leaning forward in her seat.

Howard sat down beside the agents, feeling the exhaustion beginning to creep into his bones.

"Teresa's surgery was a success. The damaged kidney was successfully removed and the donor kidney seems to be taking. The blood flow was excellent. We have her on a high dosage of antibiotics and we're keeping her sedated for now. I'm hoping in the next twenty-four hours we will start to see big improvement."

"Oh that's wonderful!" Grace said with a genuine smile. It was the first time Rigsby had seen her happy in days.

"And Jane?" Grace asked.

Howards face dropped a bit, as did Grace's smile.

_Well that was short lived. _Rigsby thought as the serious mask was flung back in place.

"Jane's BP was through the roof when he was first admitted. We managed to lower it somewhat before he was taken into surgery, but the stress his body was under on the operating table, caused his BP to spike again. There was a bleed, and he lost a lot of blood. We did manage to stabilise the bleed and he is currently having a blood transfusion."

Grace looked slightly heartbroken. Howard knew how much she cared for her team. They were a tight-knit group. Like family.

"Due to the blood loss, on top of his already exhausted state, we expect him to be unconscious for the better part of a few days. His body needs time to heal. We will keep him under a light sedation for the next twelve hours, and then we'll leave it up to Mr Jane on when he wakes up."

The agents nodded their reply.

"Go home. Get some rest. Your friends will be out to it for at least the rest of the night." Howard got up and made his way to the door. "I'll call if there's any change." He said before giving the agents a small smile and leaving the waiting area.

Grace sat back in her chair.

_Ok so they were alive. They were both alive and so far they were both going to be fine._

She took a deep breath trying to calm her already frazzled nerves. She didn't realise her hands were shaking until she felt Rigsby wrap one of his giant hands back around hers.

"Come on Grace, I'll take you home." He said gathering their coats, helping her put hers on, before shrugging into his own.

They were half way out the door when Grace turned around, facing Rigsby directly for the first time that evening.

"Wayne…" she asked uncertainly.

"Yes?"

"I…" she sighed. "I guess you'd better call Cho. Let him know we're going home and we can meet him here tomorrow."

"Right! Yeah… I―I'll do that."

She saw the disappointment in his eyes and immediately hated herself.

He turned and continued down the corridor a few steps ahead of her.

"Oh and Wayne?"

He stopped and turned into her.

"Yes?" he asked again.

"Thanks… for everything." She gave him a small smile and reached up on tip-toes to kiss him sweetly on the cheek.

Rigsby felt himself go red, and couldn't keep the stupid grin off his face.

"Anytime." He breathed quietly.

"Let's go home." She said taking his hand and Rigsby took that as a silent invitation that maybe they were all going to be ok.

**Sorry again that it's been so long and sorry it's so short. I will try my best to get the next chapter up a lot faster! **


End file.
